


Sacrifice to Light Darkness

by BlindfoldDragon



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Super Smash Brothers, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, Xenoblade Chronicles, 光神話 | Kid Icarus (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Swearing, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, World of Light (Super Smash Brothers), sacrifice au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-01 12:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 143,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20258002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlindfoldDragon/pseuds/BlindfoldDragon
Summary: Warriors and Heroes from across different dimensions gathered in one place, their hopes high and wishes of fun and peace shattered by the emergence of the Lord of Light, Galeem. The struggled against the inevitable and eventually lost in the Lord of Light's overwhelming power, with only a single survivor that escaped the initial attack and the other fighter captured to manufacture puppets.Yet, their hope never faltered as they rebelled against the Lord of Light's hold, losing something in return for escaping the chains that held them captive, entering into a World of Light where all hope is lost as they seek to reclaim what was once lost.This is a story that follows a Seer, a Hero of Winds, two angels and a half-born dragon as they fight together to conquer destiny.





	1. Epilogue

### Epilogue: Into a World of Light

They couldn’t remember how this came to be and why it turned out this way. It was almost like it came out of nowhere when they first saw the giant ball of light shining high in the sky. Iridescent wings shining in hues of yellow, purple and orange were wrapped around the giant sphere that glowed like the sun. 

Galeem, the Lord of Light. 

The warriors, champions and heroes of their own worlds, who were brought together into this world faced Galeem head on, confident that they could take down this menace that threatened to take away their peaceful future. Yet no matter how much they tried and struggled… it was to no avail. 

With an army of Master Hands by its side, Galeem swallowed up the world that the warriors had gathered upon. Its light engulfed the universe whole and the warriors, who opposed the Lord of Light, were lost to the light. 

All but one. 

Galeem used the warriors as nothing but tools, copying their bodies and essence into empty puppets in order to force spirits to inhabit them and bent them to follow it’s will. He pulled the strings of these spirit driven puppets, making them roam the world to rid of all those who opposed the Lord of Light’s reign. The captured warriors could only watch in despair as the only remaining survivor worked hard to free them from their chains. They watched on, unable to do a thing as they watched the puppets chased after Kirby, forcing him into hiding to escape their numbers and wrath. They couldn’t do a thing.

Yet… those with a will to save the world and fight for their future would never just let themselves sit behind, be used like a doll and wait to be saved. Even in their captured and chained states, the captured warriors struggled against the Lord’s hold. Day after day of not being saved, they continued to resist and struggle, they held onto the hope that they would be able to break free of those chains. 

And so their prayers were answered… but what cost? 

The warriors broke their chains, freeing themselves from the hold of Galeem, setting themselves free into the world that Galeem was rebuilding to suit its reign and image. However, they were not the same as they once were before the Lord of Light had overtaken their world. They came into the World of Light different, having sacrificed and lost something in exchange for the power to break free of the chains. 

The long and arduous journey to defeat Galeem begins. The warriors spread across this modified universe have no choice but to fight as how they are now, lacking and crippled from their first defeat at Galeem’s hands.


	2. The Missing Blade

### The Missing Blade

The cold gravel rubbed against his face, bruising his face and causing his features to grimace in response as he woke. His bright turquoise eyes fluttered open as a hiss of pain escaped his lips, his arms moving forward in front of him to support himself as he struggled to push himself into a sitting position and regain his bearings. His body felt heavy and sore, his breaths short and shallow, his head spun like a tornado and his legs felt like jelly. It took him a good while before he finally managed to pull himself into a sitting position atop the rocky plateau he woke up on. 

Shulk breathed deeply, trying to control his breathing and heart rate into a more reasonable pace before he finally decided to survey his surroundings. A rocky plateau spread out before him, a stream of water from a small pool next to him cascaded down as a waterfall into deeper plunge pools at the bottom of the rocky height he woke up upon. He could see an oddly placed maze of neon lights in front of him, feel the heat of an erupting volcano behind him and heard the gales of wind coming from the direction of a giant forest beside him.

As Shulk surveyed continued to survey the new world laid out before him, he suddenly felt a head splitting pain in his temples, almost as if needles were pierced into his brain and then pushed deeper into his skull. With a groan and a roar of pain, Shulk clutched his head and slammed his forehead onto the ground, bruising it further as he bit his lip in hopes of distracting himself from the pain. The pain was excruciating as it travelled throughout his head and even down to his neck, ending somewhere in the middle of his torso as he curled up into a ball on the rocky outcrop. He sat there shivering and screaming in pain for god knows how long before it finally stopped and he could finally breathe proper again. 

“What was that?” He wheezed to himself as he uncurled himself from his position on the ground to look out upon the world once more. His breaths were still short and shallow, but it was a lot better from when he first awoke, and for that he was a little thankful. He shook his head a little without aggravating it further and finally found the strength within his body to stand up. Yet something felt missing… like something wasn’t there. It wasn’t the lack of company around him or the dead silence that made him uncomfortable, it was something else entirely. 

Shulk had an inkling of what it was, and he was afraid to face it, but he knew that he had to be sure it was really true. Reaching behind his back, he grasped at air. Nothing. He looked at the rocky plateau around him. Nothing. Glancing down into the stream of water and into the plunge pools below him. Nothing.

The Monado was gone. 

His one weapon and the only thing he could use to defend himself… it was gone, nowhere to be seen. His breathing picked up once more, his turquoise eyes glancing right and left, all around him. Grasping at whatever hope was left in his body, hoping that he was just dreaming and he even tried doubting his own intuition. Seconds turned into minutes before he finally slumped onto the ground defeated. The Monado truly was gone…

“Could it be…” Shulk muttered to himself as he curled himself with his knees in his chest. “Could it be that to escape from Galeem, I had to give up the Monado? That-that-“ He couldn’t finish his own sentence before he heard heavy footsteps travel its way up the rocky plateau. Shulk felt his entire body tense on instinct, his body automatically shuffling further and further away from the direction that footsteps were echoing in. His breathing picked up once more as his eyes glanced from side to side in hopes of finding something-anything that he could use as a weapon to defend himself. 

With every passing second, the footsteps grew louder and the tension that built up within Shulk’s body heightened. The silence thick in the air as Shulk found himself still with fear, his lips quivering and his entire body was weak and numb. Hope as he might, he was not so lucky. A grey puppet of Corrin followed by a purple Charizard puppet emerged from a small path on the far edge of the plateau, their bright red eyes scanning the plateau before their eyes lay upon Shulk who was standing there utterly frozen with fear. Pulling the replica Yato blade from the sheathe, the Corrin lunged at Shulk, face expressionless and eyes glowing crimson as the blade was thrust towards his face-

Shulk’s vision went blue as time slowed down around him, he saw the blade arc into a side slash, a fake out of the original straightforward slash that he was just about to witness. Time was slow and everything was blue, it felt so familiar… It was a vision!

Time resumed and Shulk saw as the blade was thrust towards him, he bit his lip and quickly jumped backwards just as the puppet switched to slash him with a sideways swing. He landed a little ways away from the small stream on the rocky plateau, managing to catch his breath from the sudden attack as he slowly back away. “A- a vision… how did I… the Monado…” He didn’t have much time to ponder on it as he saw the Charizard rear its head up, flames licked at its jaws as it prepared to breathe out a flamethrower. Shulk took a step back and felt his ankle step into cold water. He took a quick glance back at the stream that led to the deeper plunge pools and back at the puppets that were coming at him. The puppet Corrin had recovered from its whiffed attack and had its large dragon jaw-hand ready to grab onto Shulk, Charizard was taking its last breath before it let out a stream of fire. Shulk didn’t need a vision to know what was coming his way. 

With no weapon to defend himself and the only safe exit down the plateau being blocked by the puppets, he only saw one option. Shulk took a deep breath and let his body fall backwards into the water, just as the puppet Corrin was about to crunch him with its large dragon jaw. The stream of flames just barely whiffed over the top of his head. Shulk felt the cold water of the stream engulf his body, embracing him in its torrential currents as it dragged him down the waterfall. He felt the force of the water knock against him, rocking him from side to side before he felt the ground below him disappear as he fell down the waterfall. The last thing he saw before his vision blacked, was the glimmering red eyes of the puppets atop the rocky plateau, almost as if watching him plummet to his apparent death. 

* * *

Shulk felt himself swim towards the light, his eyes fluttering open as he coughed out water that had filled his mouth. Shulk dragged himself out of the water onto the dry bank of the pool where the waterfall from the rocky plateau had cascaded down into. He lay down on the warm dry grass, catching his breath as he recalled what had just occurred on the rocky plateau, thanking Bionis that he was able to survive the ordeal despite the lack of the Monado to help defend him. Shulk took a deep long breath before he sat up once more to look around at the new environment he had found himself in. It seemed like there was. A river delta not too far from where he was that spread and flowed out into a vast sea. With another cough to clear his track of water, Shulk pushed himself back up to stand. 

His clothes were soaked and his hair dripped with water, his entire body cold and numb from the uncomfortable journey through the water. “I should find somewhere safe to hide and dry my clothes, maybe make myself a weapon. I can’t just carelessly attempt to fight against Galeem’s puppets, I will be a sitting Bunnit.” Shulk attempted to wring dry whatever he could of his clothes on the dry grass before he felt branches crunching behind him. 

Deja vu.

Shulk turned his head towards the source of the sound, his face turned pale and once again felt his heart sink. It was much like when he was first confronted by the puppets of Galeem on the rocky plateau but this time… this time it was different. Shulk listened carefully, he could hear it quite clearly and the enemy didn’t seem to bother hiding it. He could hear 3 pairs of footsteps approaching him. Whether or not there would have been more and they were much like the purple Charizard who hovered above the ground, Shulk wasn’t able to tell. He wouldn’t want to either. He felt his knuckles tense and closed into a fist as he clutched his clothes tight. He had not felt so cornered and helpless since that Mechon attack on Colony 9 back in his universe, the stress he felt at this moment it did nothing but reawaken bad memories of that trauma. 

Backing away from the direction that the footsteps came from, Shulk turned and ran, escaping into the thick dense clutches of the forest. The brambles and branches scratched his face, drawing blood as he clumsily made his way through the thick vegetation in hopes of losing his pursuers. His felt like he was running a marathon through Gaur Plains with how heavy and hard he was breathing. His legs ached beneath him and he could feel his muscles burning with every step he took to outrun the puppets that did not seem to even slow down in their chase of the seer. Shulk was just hoping against hope that they would give up on him. He was weaponless, powerless and almost without a doubt an easy catch for Galeem and his puppets. 

He took a split second to look back at his pursuers. Chasing not too far behind him were 3 puppets: A Mii Swordfighter with an odd looking white flower as its weapon and 2 Villager puppets, one male and one female. Their eyes alight with the bloody crimson, resembling the colour of the eyes of the first puppets of Corrin and Charizard that Shulk encountered at the top of the rocky plateau. It didn’t help soothe his pounding heart, the intentions of the puppet oozing from their eyes even without mouthing a word. They were slowly gaining up on Shulk who did not have unlimited stamina like the puppets and the distance began to get shorter and shorter… it would not be long until he was caught at this rate.

However, if there was one thing that living on the Bionis and the time he spent on his journey back home had taught him, it was to fight against the will of the Lord and seize his own destiny. 

Run... Run... RUN! I need to speed up!

Shulk felt his body grow lighter, the vision in his left eye flashing into a light shade of blue. It wasn’t a vision for time had not seemed to stop or slow down around him and it was only his left eye vision that was completely washed blue. Shulk began to pick up speed as he ran, the words of the Monado pounded in his head as he ran. 

Speed.

Shulk ran forward at a blinding speed, his body felt light like a feather, his legs taking him bounds forward as he dashed through the thick overgrowth of the forest before him. Avoiding and evading the brambles and vines that threatened to trip him, his evasion grew with every passing second as he continued to run. It was exhilarating to him as he overcame every hurdle that the forest threw at him. A wide smile creeped up onto his lips for the first time since he woke up. A sense of relief that he had not felt in such a long time. “Speed!” He breathed out with a cry of relief. 

He couldn’t tell how long he had run for before the bright blue that had cloaked the vision of his left eye finally faded and died out, but he knew it was long enough that he had long outran the puppets that were chasing him. His steps slowed down into a walk as he finally relaxed to catch his breath, taking in the new scene he had ran into. He had somehow managed to run all the way down to the sandy beach he had seen from waterfall. Shulk took in a deep breath as he savoured the salty sea air that filled the air around him, his senses relaxed and his body felt refreshed with every new breath of life he took. Shulk took a look beyond the sea, witnessing as the sun slowly set beyond the horizon, peeking with only its orange-red carpet rolled across the ocean surface. 

However, even as the sun was setting on the horizon, the light never died down, almost like it was still in the middle of the day. Shulk turned behind him and looked up high into the stratosphere, his eyes squinting against the bright light before he was finally able to make sense of why such an odd phenomenon was occurring: Galeem. 

Galeem hovered high in the skies above on the northern side of the continent, nothing but a small dot from Shulk’s perspective on almost the southernmost side of the continent. Yet despite the great distance, the light that emanated from Galeem’s body was able to light up the whole sky across the continent. 

Looking towards the tall rocky cliffs, Shulk spotted a small cave that was eroded by the waves, creating a small cozy outcrop in the rocky heights on the beach. Shulk sighed in relief as he gathered up the last bit of energy in his body to collect a few branches and sticks that were strewn across the sandy beach before retreating towards the cave. It didn’t take him long to finally set up a fire in the small cave, opting to hide a little deeper into the cave to create the fireplace. He had figured that if he made it too close to the entrance, any puppets that were patrolling the beach might notice his hiding spot. Oddly, he felt extremely tired, his legs were aching and burning and his body felt like it wanted to collapse inwards on him, but still pushed through this odd aching, enduring the unusual pain and fatigue that stabbed his body for he had to secure his hiding spot first. Thankfully, the adrenaline from the chase was enough to keep his mind distracted from the pains and aches that spread across his body. 

With the fire set up, the first thing Shulk did was to take off his clothes in order to dry them by the heat. The first step to fighting was to ensure a healthy body, and keeping cold, damp clothes on himself would only increase the risk of a cold. As he continued to strip himself of his jacket and proceeded to take off his thick wool jumper, his mind could not help but wander to what had happened when he was running in the forest. He was not mistaken: Speed Art, one of the Monado’s many powers, did indeed activate when he was running away even when the Monado was nowhere near him. It was weird. The Monado always had to be within close proximity of him in order for its ether manipulation to affect him. Shulk just couldn’t wrap his head around the phenomenon until he pulled his jumper off. 

As soon as the damp jumper was pulled off his body, Shulk noticed a very prominent blue glow that was lighting up the cavern walls around him. It was a little blinding, almost as if the blue light was right in front of him, threatening to blind him with its brightness. No matter where he looked he couldn’t seem to figure out where it was from… until he looked down at his own body. 

Bright blue lines pulsating with ether energy decorated his skin. On his chest was the circular pattern of blue lines that ran in 3 distinct circles and from the outermost 3rd circle, lines spread out across his body. Down his arms and onto his 5 fingers on each hand, down his legs and ending at his toes when he took off his shoes. He couldn’t see the pattern on his back but he could tell from the light around him that the pattern was almost as intricate as the one on the front of his body.

Finally there was his face. Shulk moved over to a small puddle that had collected itself on the side of the cave, and he breathed back a gasp of shock. “N-no way. It can’t- this cannot be…” He murmured to himself as he stared at his own reflection in the water. He never noticed it when he first looked into the stream on the rocky plateau because he was never at a proper angle to look at his reflection so clearly and because the daylight had overpowered the faint blue light of the markings, but here it was all the more clear with the lack of light. 

A single blue line extended down from each of his eye, down his neck and joined up with the large circular pattern on his chest, but that was not the main issue. Flickering in his left eye, from kanji to kanj were the words he had been longing to see. 

The Arts of the Monado were flashing in his eyes as he cycled through the many different arts huge had learnt and gathered through his journey on the Bionis, Mechonis and this world before it was overtaken by Galeem. 

“This cannot be…” Shulk breathed as he fell back onto the ground. “The Monado… the Monado has been with me the whole time.” He took a second glance to confirm his suspicions.

“The Monado is fused with my body.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the introduction of each new character, I will briefly explain what they lost in order to escape Galeem's control of them. In this chapter, we introduced the Visionary hailing from the Bionis in the world of Xenoblade Chronicles: Shulk!
> 
> Shulk - Lost the Monado in return to escape Galeem's clutches, however he did not lose everything that the Monado provided him with. Though the main blade was lost, Shulk still retains the power of the Monado, including its ether properties and the many arts it possesses, within his body.  
Much like the Monado's circular glass panel that cycle through the different arts, Shulk's left eye will show which art he uses and will change colour according to the art he uses. The lines across his body in-turn will glow in the dark and flash in certain patterns when he feels certain emotions.  
However, since its high amounts of ether manipulation that goes through his body rather than through a blade created to withstand the manipulation, there are slight side effects.
> 
> Visual Ref: https://sta.sh/01ez5epr7vpz


	3. Faux Sword

### Chapter 3: Faux Sword

Shulk watched as the shadows of the patrolling Isabelle puppets passed just around the corner of the next building, his breath held and his body tense as their footsteps drifted away slowly until it was gone. With a deep breath and a sigh of relief, he slowly turned the knob of the door and entered the dilapidated house. White walls of concrete, shattered glass all over the floor from the broken windows, dust collecting on the surfaces and the cracks on the wooden floor, this house was miserably abandoned, but Shulk was not here to find a new home. His eyes scanned across the decrepit house until he spotted what he needed. 

With bated breath, Shulk walked into the old kitchen, closing in on his target as he reached his hand out in anticipation as the blue lines that decorated his skin glowed in response to his excitement. His fingers moved over the dusty yet smooth metal surface of a fridge and a smile crept up his lips. Without hesitation, Shulk twisted the orientation of the fridge in front of him and began to dismantle the system behind the appliance. A few gears fell and a few screws came loose as he tinkered with the fridge’s system until he pulled out what he needed. 

“Finally, a working radiator! That’s the last piece I needed to finish my weapon.” With a relieved smile on his face as he gently placed the radiator into the safety of his jacket. Now it was a matter of returning back safely to the cave. 

Taking one last look at the dismantled fridge, Shulk bowed slightly towards it, apologizing to it silently before he turned the knob and exited the house. Once again he practiced the routine of avoiding the eyes of the puppets that patrolled the small abandoned district, watching and looking out for the escaped fighters. Their patrol routes never changed so it was fairly easy for Shulk to document their routes and hence sneak around without them noticing, though it pains him to admit that it took him a few days of observation after he discovered this small town by the sea a week back. 

Sneaking past an Inkling puppet without a sound, Shulk was finally out of the patrol zone. Without wasting anymore time, he sprinted back towards his cave once more. His left eye glowed a pale blue as a light blue aura surrounded his legs. His body grew lighter as he sped down the sandy beach coast, leaving a trail of sand and dust in his wake while skillfully avoiding all the branches and debris that had washed ashore. Within a few minutes, the cave was finally within sight. With the last bit of effort, Shulk strained his art to last a little longer until he finally reached the cave. 

The blue colour in his left vision paled and died down as soon as he reached the mouth of his cave and he could feel the fatigue of the art start to grow on him. His muscles were beginning to ache, so it was a good thing he managed to make it back to the cave before speed art ran out or he would be risking his vulnerable state out in the open. Pulling himself across the uneven rocky floor of the cave, Shulk collapsed against the cavern walls closest to the small fire pit that was extinguished. Despite the lack of a proper fire, the cave was well lit thanks to the glowing lines that ran across his body, leaving a slight blue glow within the dark cave that was sufficient enough for Shulk to make his way around the cave without crashing into anything. 

Slowly pulling the radiator from under his jacket, Shulk chuckled lightly as he gripped onto it hard. It took him a bit before he finally regained enough strength in his body to pull himself together and make his way over to the fireplace to light a fire. Though the light that emanated from his body was sufficiently bright enough to let him see his way around the cave, he needed a stronger intensity of light for what he was about to do next. A few sparks of flint and the fire was lit and Shulk could finally finish his long anticipated project. 

Shulk took the radiator that he had obtained from the fridge and placed it on a small workbench that was covered in screws, scraps of metals, gears, a lot of mechanical tools and a sword that resembled the Monado in size and shape. Most of these had been stolen from the town on the seaside which took a good few days to collect with how often the puppets patrolled the place, so Shulk had to carefully maneuver each small part back to the cave one by one. Over the course of the past few days, Shulk used whatever materials he had obtained from the town and from scavenging the beach to create himself a weapon. All that was left was the radiator. 

Excitement filled his body as Shulk took the radiator and placed it snugly into the sword he had worked on creating for the past few days, the lines on his body showing similar response with how much it glowed and flickered. With the radiator set in place, Shulk reached out and grabbed the new weapon by its handle before holding it in front of him. A ray of blue light shot out from the blade as the frame around it slowly parted. Swinging the blade into a large stalagmite in front of him, the blade of light sliced cleanly through the rock. 

“It works! It works!” Shulk cried out as he rubbed a small tear from his eyes. “With this I can finally work to seize my own destiny with my own hands.” He smiled widely as he cradled his creation. The new weapon he created resembled the Monado, including the blade of light that shot out of the blade when activated. It was almost a complete replica, save for the lack of the Monado art display in the multiple glass layers on the blade. 

With the replica Monado complete, Shulk was ready to finally set out on his own journey to defeat Galeem. He long suspected that most of the other warriors and fighters already started way earlier than he did, but he had to take some time to prepare a weapon for himself. Equipping the sword to his back, he dubbed it ‘Replica’, Shulk moved over to the workbench again. He looked at the mess of a workbench he had to the shoddy display of a cave that he had gotten so familiar with over the past week. The fire in the small fire pit continued to crackle and snap as it lit up the cave around him. 

“I guess this is where we say goodbye.” A pained smile on his face as he snuffed out the flames in the fire pit with water from a bucket he had placed next to his workbench. The final flickers of fire light died and all that lit up the cave was the blue glow coming from the blue lines etched on his skin. “Thank you.” He whispered as he left the cave, ready to set out on his own journey and aid in the defeat of Galeem.

* * *

The salty sea breeze stung his nose as Shulk trudged across the beach for the upteenth time that week, much too familiar with the layout of the beach as he mindlessly made his way along the coastline. Shulk didn’t have a game plan despite having completed his preparations to set out on his journey, only recognising that he had to set out sooner or later to help fight against Galeem’s puppets to free the spirit that pulled their strings. 

Fingers on his chin as he pondered his options, he could return to the seaside town and fight the puppets there, but his body was not in optimal condition following the recent discoveries he made about his body since it was fused with the Monado’s power. There were certain repercussions that he dared not risk suffering from once he used such power. 

Shulk continued to wander along the coastline, lost in deep thought about his next course of action when he heard the crunching of footsteps on sand just right behind him. His body tensed up as he quickly whipped around to see a puppet of the ice climber duo with their hammers held straight at him. Shulk held his breath and slowly backed away from the Ice Climber duo with glowing crimson red eyes, hands slowly moving back and pulling his sword out in front of him in a defensive position. The Ice Climber puppets of Popo and Nana were not faltered by Shulk’s new weapon, taking the opportunity of the surprise attack to make the first move.

The two puppets lunged at Shulk, immediately desyncing themselves from each other as Nana immediately sent out an ice shot straight at Shulk and Popo came in for a straight hit with his hammer. Though Shulk managed to slice the ice shot in half, he was unable to react in time for the follow up more from Popo as he was sent flying into the sand when the hammer slammed straight into his gut. Sand in his face and his stomach bruised from the hit, Shulk was in the midst of recovering from the double attack when he saw both climbers charging at him with their hammers swinging from the corner of his eye. Ignoring the pain in his gut, Shulk did a backflip narrowly avoiding the charge and then caught his landing on the sand before slashing his sword’s light beam like a baseball bat at the puppets. Taken aback by Shulk’s sudden movements, the puppets were sent flying a little ways away, giving Shulk some time to recover from the initial charge.

“I cannot just fight without using my arts.” He whispered to himself as he watched the puppets carefully, wary of any follow-up moves that might come his way after his retaliation. The puppets shook their heads and immediately linked hands together as Popo and Nana spun around in a circle with a blizzard of ice around them to perform squall hammer. Shulk went for the counter attack with his vision, but he only managed to hit Nana out of the attack, detaching her from Popo but he got hit by Popo’s hammer and was sent into the sand once more. Spitting out sand, he quickly stood up and held Replica in front of him. “I really don’t want to use my arts, but I guess I have to.” 

Shulk focused the ether into Replica as the colour of his left eye shifted from turquoise to blue to green to red and then finally landed on purple, a symbol reflecting in his eye. A purple aura surrounded Replica’s blade and the lines that adorned his body began to glow in the same purple colour as Shulk held Replica in front of him. The puppets managed to sync with each other again as they jumped into the air and tried to come down on Shulk’s skull with their hammers. Shulk rolled away just in time as the two climber puppets whiffed their forward aerial and he managed to catch their landing with a super charged forward thrust of Replica’s light blade. He watched the puppets flash purple as the extra damage was dealt and he immediately leaped back to avoid getting pummelled by another round of squall hammer. Biting his lip, he ascertained that the few hits he managed to get in on them was enough as he prepared his next attack. 

His eye colour once again shifted, from purple to yellow and then red with a symbol in his eye. Red sparks flew and a dense red aura surrounded his hands and wrist, the lines on his body complementing the red aura with its own vermillion colour. Shulk swung the blade outwards and concentrated his energy into a defensive position just as the ice climbers came charging in with their hammers again. This time he had them, with a thrust of his blade upwards into the air, he scooped up the ice climber puppets in his arc and thrust them into the air, following up with another slash.

“Air slash!” He cried out as he dealt the final slash on them in the air, sending them flying into the sky and landing hard on the sandy coast with a loud thud. The puppets of Popo and Nana stayed on the ground unmoving. Shulk heaved a sigh of relief as he released the ether manipulation around his hands and wrists, the bright red aura disappearing and the lines on his body returning back to the usual pale blue. He slowly walked over to the frozen puppets and watched as the puppets body disintegrated in front of him, turning into small ice particles on the sea breeze and disappearing into the light. All that was left in the place of the puppet’s body was a small orb with a small miniature being inside of it. 

Shulk narrowed his eyes in a squint as he curiously picked up the orb. The orb was a pretty hue of blue and green and contained within its glassy like outer surface was a Lapras! 

As much as Shulk would have loved to celebrate, he really couldn’t as a sharp pain immediately hit his chest and his arms went numb. Clutching his chest with a weak grip, Shulk fell onto the sand with a pained hiss, curling into a ball as he tried to deal and endure the pain his body was suffering from. His heart was on fire, burning and constantly feeling like it was being stabbed from the inside out. Each throb made his chest scream in pain and his lungs were at a loss of how to breathe as his breathing became erratic, shallow and rapid. Shulk grit his teeth together as he felt the pain rise up his chest, choking him until he started to cough and wheeze. It didn’t help that his arms were numb, for he couldn’t quite feel them or move them, unable to procure enough energy into them to clutch his chest area hard enough to help endure the pain. 

Seconds past before the pain started to die down and Shulk began to regain feeling in his arms. Allowing his breathing to return to normal and for blood to return back to his pale white knuckles , Shulk uncurled himself and lay on the sand, his breathing still shallow and rapid but at a more stable rate than before. He looked up into the sky above, watching as the rolling white clouds blew past. “Th-that really does not bode well for me…” He muttered to himself as he turned his body and began to pick himself up from the sand, dusting himself down as he did. “It’s not safe for my body or health if I just recklessly use Monado arts in fight like that. If only there was some way to control the repercussions or just get rid of them entirely. Maybe I just need to do more research on my own body, or maybe try to recall some other features the Monado had that helped it cope with this high degree of ether manipulation.” Shulk shook his head and moved over to pick up the Lapras orb, inspecting the orb once more before pocketing it in his dimensional storage bag. 

With the fight out of the way and his body more or less stable again, Shulk set out towards the seaside town, this time being sure to be wary of his surroundings and stay clear from the eyes of the puppets. It was not that he didn’t want to fight, but fighting meant using Monado arts, for he was quite weak without them, and using Monado arts meant he had to go through that pain once more. He shivered at the thought of laying prone to endure the pain just as another puppet showed up in the vicinity, it only spelled trouble to him. For now, he took care to avoid any and all fights until he could find a way to deal with the repercussions of Monado arts.

Sneaking past the same Isabelle and Inkling puppets followed by a Megaman puppet, Shulk found himself at the other end of the beach with a proper bay and coastline shallow and gentle enough that it led towards the vast sea. However, something caught his eye as Shulk squinted at the horizon before him. It took a while of focusing is vision to see it, but when he finally spotted the island just a little ways off the coast, he was quite intrigued. Shulk swore he could see something move on the island in great numbers, most likely the different puppets that were tasked with patrolling the island. The smart thing would be to avoid the island completely, especially since it was so out of the way, but Shulk felt a draw to it. His natural curiosity and desire to research and discover new places had long overtaken the concern for his safety.

“But how do I get there” He mused to himself softly, “If I just tried to swim over there, it would take me a few days without rest.” He placed his hand on his chin as he tried to come up with other ways that could allow him to cross the ocean, until he noticed that his dimensional bag was glowing. He furrowed his brow and reached into the dimensional bag to pick out the Lapras orb which was glimmering in gold and silver sparkles around its rim. Holding it out to the water, Shulk was taken aback when the Lapras figure inside the orb shot out and a ghostly Lapras was formed on the water, its flippers lapping at the waves and eyes set straight out, trailing the island. 

Shulk took in a sharp breath before exhaling. He was not expecting that, but his mind was quick to deduce what had just happened, aiding in his recovery from the shock. With one last look at the orb, he pocketed it away back into the dimensional bag and hopped onto the back of the ghostly Lapras. Oddly enough, for as translucent as the Lapras was, he could stand firmly on its rocky shell back, sitting himself comfortably on its back as the Lapras departed from the coast, swimming steadily towards the island on the horizon.

* * *

The Lapras docked on the sandy beach of the Southern Island allowing Shulk to dismount from its shelled back onto the coast. As soon as Shulk got off the Lapras’ back, the ghostly spirit Lapras burst into light and dissipated into sparkles in the air before condensing and shooting back into the dimensional bag where the orb was. Shulk watched as the Lapras disappeared with mild interest and made a mental hypothesis in his head about the spirits before he turned his attention back to the island he had docked on. 

The island wasn’t very big, consisting of four smaller islands that rose out of the sea and was barely covered in some trees and joined together by a sandy bridge that barely peeked out of the sea. The one thing that caught Shulk’s eyes, however, was the column of light that was rising into the skies above on the second island across the sand bridge. It wasn’t as visible from the main continent but from where he was now? It was clear as day. 

Shulk took a deep breath and immediately hid behind a giant boulder that was on the coast just as a giant Palutena puppet waltzed its way past him on the beach. The puppet’s crimson eyes somehow managed to miss him as it did its patrol rounds. He also noted a giant King K Rool puppet on the other end of the beach, which didn’t bode well for him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Shulk watched their movements, marking down their pattern of patrol before he turned around and placed his back against the boulder in order to ponder on his next course of action. 

“I could use speed art to just run past them and try to make it to the column of light, but speed art only lasts for 8 seconds. And then I will have to endure another 16 seconds of fatigue and aches in my legs.” Shulk shuddered at the thought of it and took another glance back behind the rock to see that the Palutena and K Rool puppets had finished one cycle and were moving onto another patrol cycle. Shulk bit his lip and took in a deep breath, “I really don’t have a choice do I?” Taking a final look and waiting until the right moment when both puppets turned their backs from one another, Shulk sprinted. “It's now or never! Speed!” He cried out as the vision in his left eye flushed pale blue and he dashed across the sandy coast. 

8...

His escape caught the attention of the puppets, but they were big and much too slow to catch up with the speeding seer as he tore down the road, avoiding the first two puppets and dashing straight into the small thicket of trees. But even if he wanted to use the trees to shake them off, he really didn’t have the time. 

7…6...

Shulk narrowly avoided an autoreticle attack aimed at him from afar by the Palutena puppet with a well timed jump, landing safely on the sandy bridge and managing to take a swift side step to avoid the K Rool’s crown with a vision. 

6…5...

With the two puppets on the other island, Shulk reached the second island of the cluster, nearly being run over by a red Wario puppet on its motorbike. A roll and a spot dodge later, he made the Wario’s bike trip and crash into a giant explosion with a swing of his sword, the edge of the light blade managing to nick the engine and causing it to malfunction and explode. 

4...3...

A Zero Suit Samus hot on his heels as Shulk was about to cross a wooden bridge onto a smaller island outcrop. The Zero Suit Samus shot a laser at his feet, causing his right foot to get temporarily paralysed. Shulk flinched but he couldn’t fall here, not when he was so close. He pushed an arm out in front of him and caught his landing managing to muster enough strength to do a somersault and land back on his two feet just as the paralysis wore off before rushing down the sandy path once more. 

2...1…

His time was almost up and the column of light was just beyond a small grove of trees. However, right in his path, trying to block his way were a Toon Link, Captain Falcon and Pikachu puppets. They all stood in a row, alert and ready to interrupt Shulk’s attempt to get into the column of light with their sword drawn, fists ready and electricity sparking as they charged at Shulk. Shulk felt a smile creep up on his lips as he watched time slow down around him. This was the only way he could avoid this: With his visions. He dodged the sword swing that followed the arrow that was shot at him. He parried the fist of the Captain Falcon puppet with his sword and caused the punch to go straight into the Pikachu puppet’s face as it tried to sneak behind him to electrocute him. With the puppets in a heaping mess from attacking each other in their confusion, Shulk raced into the trees. 

0…

Speed art ran out just in time as he jumped into the column of light and felt his body lift from the ground, teleporting him away as the light engulfed his entire body.

* * *

The warm wind blew his hair into his face as Shulk lay flat on the ground, his legs aching and muscles burning from using speed art to outrun the many puppets before. He lay there for a good half a minute before he picked himself up from the ground again. The light of the new area fell onto his eyes and it caused him to flinch, holding up his hand to shade his face from the strong sunlight. After his eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light around him, he finally took a good look at the new area behind him. 

It was a large plateau covered in trees, grass and flora before him. 2 pools of water with a single running waterfall cascading down into the pool closest to where he was. He could hear the wind rustling the leaves of the trees and grass around him accompanied in harmony by the water that crashed into the plunge pool at the waterfall base. The bitter-sweet smell of grass and an odd burning smell? 

Without warning, an ear piercing screech and a roar echoed around him, deafening him momentarily as Shulk clasped his hands around his ears and looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. The roar sounded again, the ground began to shake and quiver as he felt the winds whip around him, sharp blades of air cutting his skin. A shadow covered the sun above and Shulk instinctively looked up to see a monster diving down towards him. 

He couldn’t make out its features since it blocked the sunlight, but he knew he was in trouble if he didn’t move. Shulk scrambled to get out of the way, rushing down the gravel path that branched in front of him, taking the right path and tripping over a few branches and roots along the way. 

His panting grew heavy and he could feel the water splash onto him from the pool he ran past as the shadow continued to chase him. Another roar resounded from the monster that caused Shulk to flinch and freeze, the monster gaining on him in this momentary hesitation. Talons and claws outstretched, wings spread wide open as the razor sharp silver teeth gnashes, threatening to crush Shulk in its jaws. 

A hook attached to a long chain shot out from the bushes right next to Shulk, wrapping tightly around his waist. Without warning, Shulk was reeled into the bushes just as the giant monster crashed into the ground, ending up with nothing but a mouthful of air and dirt instead of a dead seer. It screeched and roared in defeat as it flapped its wings and immediately took to the skies again, in search of the escaped visionary from the skies. 

Shulk breathed hard and managed to catch his breath as soon as he saw the monster take to the air once more. He untangled the hookshot from his waist and watched it retract itself into the spring loaded handle and stored away by the hero that saved him from certain doom. 

With a small stature clad in green tunic and a large green hat, Shulk’s saviour brushed aside their bright yellow hair from their face, revealing their large wide eyes. A brown wooden shield rimmed with silver in one hand and the purple hilt of the Master Sword in the other, his saviour looked at Shulk with wide concerned eyes in silence. Shulk took in a sharp breath. 

“Toon Link? Is that you?” He breathed out. Yet, all he got was a silent squint from Toon Link as he imitated Shulk’s mouth movement for a moment, pondered on the words in his silence for a while as he repeated the lip movements over and over again. It took a while before Toon Link responded with a nod. Clearly such behaviour was unusual, and it did not just fly over Shulk’s head as he observed Toon Link.

“Hey Toon… are you okay? What did you-“ Before Shulk could finish his sentence, the screech of the monster that had chased him since he entered this dimension reverberated throughout the entire plateau, splitting his eardrums as Shulk instinctively covered his ears with his hands. The lines on his body flashing erratically with Shulk’s shock to reflect his emotions. However, as Shulk looked up at Toon Link to see how he fared, he was more than just dumbfounded to see Toon Link just staring at him worried, as if the roars didn’t affect him whatsoever. 

When the cries of the monster died down, Shulk slowly removed his hands from his ears just as Toon Link came over to slowly trace a small finger over the lines on Shulk’s hands. Shulk looked at Toon Link and swallowed the lump in his throat, he had a hypothesis…

“Hey Toon… Can you- Can you hear me?” Toon Link looked at Shulk, mouthing his words back at him, imitating his lip movements over and over again as he did when Shulk first met him. It took a while before Toon Link bit his lips, his gaze shifted away from Shulk as he gave a very slow shake of his head. Shulk felt a pain in his heart, it was a different pain from the heartburns he got from using buster art, but it delivered a pained emotion through his body that even the lines on his skin betrayed him as it seemed to flash in a slow rhythmic pattern. 

Toon Link used to talk highly about his dreams to become a conductor of the seas, waving his Wind Waker Baton as he played tunes on the breeze that blew past them in a peace long forgotten. He told stories about his travels enthusiastically to other warriors and champions, singing praise about his own musical prowess and his courage as he braved the seas back in a flooded Hyrule. And now, he could no longer hear the tunes he had grown to love. 

To lose his hearing, is nothing more than a mockery to this young Hero of Winds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From a timeline where Hyrule is flooded in order to seal Ganondorf away in the ruins of a forgotten kingdom, is the Hero of Winds who sails the Great Sea: Toon Link!
> 
> Toon Link, alternatively called Toon for convenience, lost his hearing to escape from Galeem. He is entirely deaf and he cannot hear anything. His other senses on the other hand became a lot more sensitive in order to make up for his loss of hearing which is why he was able to sense where Shulk was and save him.  
Gotta hand it to the little dude that despite his miserable condition, his heroism still triumphs it all.


	4. Heart-to-Heart: Signs of Comfort

### Heart-to-Heart: Signs of Comfort

Shulk dipped both canteens into the small plunge pool, filling both bottles with clean crystal clear water before taking it out of the pool and capping them with their respective caps. He took a quick glance towards the sky, looking out for any sign of the monster that patrolled the plateau before he slipped back into the thick thicket of trees behind the plunge pool. Maneuvering his way through the brambles and trees, Shulk brushed aside some weeping willows and made his way into the small clearing that he and Toon had found. 

Toon sat in the middle of clearing in front of a small fire that had multiple skewered with fish on them lined around the perimeter of the fireplace. Toon continued to stare at the fire and the fish slowly cooking by the fire. He didn’t look up when Shulk entered the clearing, he didn’t notice that Shulk placed the canteens in the small satchels behind him, he didn’t even notice that Shulk came up behind him until Shulk reached out to touch him on the shoulder. 

Toon flinched at the touch and instinctively reached behind him to draw his sword but Shulk stopped him by gently holding onto his arm. “Its ok.” Shulk whispered with a warm smile as he placed Toon’s arm back to his side and took a seat on the grass right next to Toon. He checked the fish, making sure it was cooking equally on all sides before picking out a few skewers from the ground and handed one to Toon. “Here. It’s cooked, you should eat.” Shulk grinned as he pushed the skewer into Toon’s hands, watching as Toon slowly mouthed his words back at him before nodding. “Thank… you…” Came the reply as a soft whisper before Toon took a small nibble at his fish. 

Shulk took a large bite out of his, his eyes trailing Toon as the small Hylian gingerly took one bite after another, watching and taking quick looks at Shulk every now and then before quickly turning away. They ate in silence other than the occasional glances at each other and maybe sometimes Toon would shift over closer to Shulk to observe how the lines on his skin would glow and flash at regular intervals. Noticing how Toon kept on inching closer and closer to him, Shulk swallowed his mouth full and smiled warmly at Toon, gesturing at the lines on his body as he spoke. “Do you want to see?” 

Even without having to mouth the words back, Toon understood the question. He nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling as he fidgeted a little in his excitement. Shulk chuckled watching Toon act like a hyperactive kid and slowly rolled up his sleeves to reveal the blue lines that ran up his arms. He watched as Toon came closer to him, running his fingers gingerly down the lines. It caused Shulk to flinch a little but he held down the urge to move, not wanting to scare Toon away from his child-like curiosity especially since it seemed to lift his spirits. Once Toon was done with the lines on his arms, Shulk lifted up his sweater and jacket to show the circular blue lines on his chest, chuckling at how mesmerised and intrigued Toon was at the lines that ran across his body. It was working to make Toon look a little happier despite his bleak situation and Shulk was determined to get Toon to open up to him. 

“Hey Toon, watch this!” Shulk tapped Toon’s nose and got Toon to look at his left eye with a gesture. Shulk made sure Toon was looking straight at his left eye before he channeled the ether within his body and in his surroundings, making the Monado art wheel flash in his eyes as he cycled through the different kanji of his many different arts. Toon’s lips parted and his jaw dropped as he watched Shulk wheel and cycle through the many different kanji characters in his left eye before Shulk blinked and let his left eye return to normal. Toon sat back a little and clapped in a small applause at Shulk’s little show and Shulk held back his laughter as he picked Toon up under the shoulder and placed Toon in his lap. 

Toon gave a small squeal when he was picked up but relaxed when he was set down nicely in Shulk’s lap. Toon looked up at Shulk’s face where Shulk noticed and proceeded to ruffle Toon’s hair. As Toon settled down in Shulk’s lap, tracing the lines on Shulk’s body and watching it glow, Shulk pondered on how he should proceed with this interaction. It was going to be hard for him to communicate with Toon when all he could do was just slowly mouth his words to the little Hylian and wait for Toon to piece words together based on lip reading. There had to be a better way. 

“There is sign language…” Shulk muttered to himself absentmindedly, forgetting that Toon was sitting in his lap and watching the visionary closely. Toon slowly mouthed the words back to himself as he lip read Shulk before narrowing his eyes in thought. The Visionary looked back at how Toon scrunched up his face and couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous Toon’s expression looked, and that seemed to crack Toon up too as finally Toon laughed for the first time since they met. The volume and intonation of Toon’s laugh wasn’t stable, being loud one second and soft the next. When they both finally recovered from their laughing fit, Toon tugged gently at Shulk’s sleeve with a nod as his mouth parted to say something in a whisper. “Sign language… sounds… good.” His words took a while to form and the volume had weird spikes between syllables but Shulk expected that since Toon couldn’t hear himself and was likely focusing on getting words out rather than trying to control the volume he couldn’t listen out for. 

Ruffling Toon’s hair once more, Shulk chuckled at Toon’s pouty face before calming himself. “Then let us go with sign language.” The response was an instant nod as Toon jumped out of Shulk’s lap to sit facing him to watch Shulk’s attempt at sign language. 

Neither Shulk nor Toon knew a thing about sign language, or well the official method of sign language communication so they had to make do with vague gestures they came up with on the fly. Starting out simple with simple responses like ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ were fundamental to communication, as well as vague movements to represent nouns and objects like ‘Trees’, ‘Enemy’ and ‘Puppet’. The toughest came down to the more complex sentences which were a lot harder to put into simple gestures that could be easily recognised by the two mutually. In the process, Toon was getting a lot better at lip reading as long as Shulk spoke slowly, the signs were mostly used to supplement more complex sentences. The sun was finally beginning to set over the plateau when the duo were satisfied with the progress they had made, with good timing too, for it was time for them to have another meal. 

Shulk stood up and stretched himself, the lines on his body glowing warmly as their surroundings got gradually darker and darker. Shulk looked over his shoulder to see Toon gazing at him with wide eyes, trailing the glowing flickers across the blue lines etched on his skin. Shulk gave a low chuckle and turned to sign. _Lines, glow, dark._ Toon’s eyes widened with a shimmer of interest as he slowly inched his way closer to watch the lines slowly get brighter and brighter as the night began to fall. Shulk watched Toon’s interest with mild curiosity before gesturing gently for the small hero of winds to sit back down. Taking a few more sticks of fish that had grown cold from the ground, Shulk re-heated it by the fire before passing it to Toon. 

The latter was quick to gobble his up, only taking pauses in between to spit out bones from the meal. Shulk took his time this time, preferring to watch the setting sun and the slow gradient change of the skies above them. Their surroundings soon got dark and gloomy, the fire crackling in the fire pit and the lines on Shulk’s body were the only sources of light they had as they prepared to endure the night. 

Shulk moved over closer to the fireplace and was preparing to do the first shift of night watch when Toon tugged at his sweater. Turning to look at the small hero, Shulk took a second to speak, forgetting to use sign language. “What is it Toon?” He soon realised his mistake and quickly tried to correct it but Toon seemed to understand the question for a reply came not too long after. “Shulk… are you… okay? Can… you fight?” Once again, Toon’s intonations and stresses in his words were wonky and jumbled, but that was only natural. Shulk furrowed his brow and gestured for Toon to sit in front of him by the fire, to which Toon obliged.

“Why do you ask?” Shulk asked, moving his lips and stressing his words slowly to allow Toon to lip read better. Toon frowned and then gestured to the skies. _Monster, stop, exit, magic, barrier._ Shulk placed a finger on his chin, processing what Toon had signed to him before saying it slowly so Toon could lip read. “The monster that chased me down is preventing us from leaving this area because of a magical barrier?” Toon nodded fervently. “That is a cause for concern… so we must defeat it to get out right?” Another nod. 

Shulk sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Truth to be told, I don’t know if I can fight well.” Toon looked at him with wide eyes glimmering with concern, inching closer to Shulk to lip read what he had to say. Seeing what he had to say was going to be complex to understand, Shulk deduced it would be best to talk slower and incorporate some sign language into his communication. “I lost the Monado to escape Galeem, but the Monado’s power was transferred onto my body, that’s why I have these lines going across my body.” He took a brief pause to let Toon catch up as well as to gesture to the lines on his body. “I can use my arts just fine, but they have repercussions.” At the last word, Toon immediately sat up straight, his face scrunched with concern. “Depending on the art I use, I might suffer from numbness, fatigue and even heartburn. As you can guess, it really affects my efficiency in battle when I have to endure all those repercussions just because I use an art. It is tough to fight without them, because I am just weak without it you see.” 

Shulk was about to end it off nicely but he was cut off by Toon leaping straight into him, the small hero burying his face into Shulk’s clothes. Shulk heard slight whimpers and sniffs from the small hero and just sighed. Moving a hand over the small hero’s head to gently pat him, Shulk whispered to himself a little. “Thank you for your concern, Toon. Thank you.” They sat there by the crackling fire, waiting for Toon to finally finish weeping before they sat back facing each other. Toon wiped more tears from under his red eyes before hiccuping an answer back. “Then… I will help Shulk… I will help you fight… Protect you when you are down… like when you helped me.” Toon shuffled a little to tell his tale to Shulk, forgoing any sort of sign language to just speak his heart out. 

“I was scared… I woke up and could not hear anything… I ran from the monster that chased me around and around… I am supposed to be the hero of courage… but I ran because I could not hear… scared.” Toon sniffed as he held his knees to his face. It was hard to discern a few words with how unusually stressed some of the words were as well as the constant shift in volume, but Shulk pushed on, determined to hear Toon to the very end. And so was Toon. “Then you came… and helped me… so I must help you back… No one can work alone anymore…” 

Shulk could feel the tears bubbling inside him, but he suppressed the urge to tear and instead opted to hold onto Toon’s tiny hand. The lines on his fingers glowing erratically, betraying him of his true muddled emotions of sadness and gratitude. He waited for Toon to look up at him before signing. _Thank you, fight, together, you, my back, I, your back._

Toon wiped his tears and nodded enthusiastically. The night had fallen deep over them, the cloak of darkness wrapped around them save for the lines on Shulk’s body that kept the small clearing alight. Shulk gestured and offered to take night watch as Toon went ahead to sleep on a small bedding of leaves that he had prepared earlier. As the stars twinkled and sparkled in the skies above him, Shulk silently thanked Bionis that he made the right call to follow his instincts and jump into the pillar of light. He had saved a lost soul, and that lost soul in turn offered to help him back. He couldn't ask for more. 

“We will discuss a plan tomorrow. For now, rest is the best reward for coming this far.” As the night continued to pass by, Shulk’s glowing lines remained bright as ever to light up the clearing, the glow never ceasing as time ticked away slowly towards the next fight.


	5. Rathalos I

### Chapter 5: Rathalos I

“Hey, are you awake? Please say you are awake!”

_Oh… It’s that vision again. _

“Have you two been eating nothing but fish this entire time?! Let me cook for you!” 

_Their figure is still so blurry, I cannot make out who you are… the voice sounds familiar…_

“Hey let me join you! I need to find him!”

_Find who? Who did you lose? Didn’t we all escape?_

“I told you not to come here! Idiots! It’s dangerous here!” 

_Where? This all seems so unfamiliar…_

“Thanks for looking out for him… I guess. Fuck. Just let me join the fucking team okay?”

_Comrades are always nice… why do you doubt yourself? _

“GRAAAAWWWWRRR!”

_Such pained roars… _

“There you are… I have been awaiting your arrival… Come, allow us to join forces and defeat them all. We shall have it all to ourselves!”

_Such selfish desires… the voice cold and menacing… Who are you talking to? Are you talking to me? _

“It’s been a long time coming. Let us conquer it all together ——-.”

_Who? Who are you talking to? _

“... You have done well serving me. Let me give you a choice. It's simple really. Either you continue to serve under me or you die.”

_The earth is shaking… This vision… I hope it never comes true… _

“Sh-ulk! Shulk!” 

_Such a messy intonation… why does that voice waver?_

“SHULK!”

* * *

Shullk’s eyes flew open and his body sat up in shock, sweat dripping down his chin and his damp hair as his breathing was rapid and shallow. A weight on his legs made him look down instinctively, his gaze locking with Toon’s wide eyes who stared straight into Shulk’s eyes. Toon’s lips quivered and buried his face into Shulk’s sweater, banging his fists into Shulk’s stomach with soft whimpers of wavering intonation. Shulk watched Toon with a relieved sigh, his tense body finally relaxed and the lines on his body returned to a rhythmic pattern. Moving his hand over Toon’s head, he caressed the little Hylian for a bit before lifting Toon’s head to face him once more.

“I will be fine.” Shulk whispered slowly in order to accomodate for Toon’s slow lip reading, but Toon seemed to understand it instantly and nodded, wiping a few tears from his eyes as he did. Sitting up straight on Shulk’s legs, Toon began to sign. What, you, see? Shulk bit his lip. It was not the first time he had this vision, he had been having the same sequence of dream-like visions ever since he left the rocky plateau he woke up on. It was so… vivid… so real… but he couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone else about it. Not that he had anyone to talk about it up until now, but he didn’t find it considerate of him to worry Toon any further with his problems. 

Shaking his head, Shulk forced a smile on his face for Toon and signed back ‘nothing’ before placing Toon on the ground on his two feet. Stretching himself to rid of the cramps in his muscles, Shulk stood up and grasped for Replica that was placed next to his sleeping area, swinging it around a little to test his reflexes before equipping it to his back. Toon watched Shulk for a moment, eyes searching Shulk’s actions for any hints of uneasiness from the seer but found nothing. Defeated, Toon sighed slightly before nodding and proceeded to pick up his own equipment. The Master Sword on his back, Hero’s Shield in one hand, his boomerang and hook shot in his inventory and a check to ensure his stash of bombs and arrows were sufficient. Toon turned back to face Shulk with his arsenal in tow, giving him a wide smile and a nod.

They were both ready now. Shulk held out a fist to Toon and Toon answered back with a fist bump. With a goal in mind, Shulk and Toon left the clearing behind, heading towards their escape from Forest Hill: Rathalos. 

It was hard for Shulk to admit, but he really did not have a plan going into the confrontation with Rathalos. Having only Toon to back him up, they didn’t exactly have the best of coordination with each other. On one hand, Toon was missing an important sense that was necessary in battle communication and on the other, Shulk knew he was lacking in options himself with his different arts having repercussions when he uses them. Added up, it didn’t bode well for the both of them and Shulk knew that. However, they had to do it for time was not on their side. 

The deafening roars of the monstrous boss disrupted Shulk’s chain of thoughts as he immediately ducked down, his hands flying to cover his ears as he fended off the noise. He felt a small tiny hand on his back rubbing him gently as if trying to coax Shulk back up. It went on for a few more seconds before Shulk finally removed his hands from his ears, no longer dazed by the loud cry of Rathalos as he looked over at Toon. Once again, Toon wore a concerned expression on his face as he ran a finger across the flickering lights on Shulk’s skin, his lips murmuring something inaudible. Shulk shook his head lightly and smiled weakly at Toon before he looked back up at the circling shadow above them. 

“He knows.” Shulk muttered to himself. He was the recipient of odd looks from Toon who couldn’t catch up with the lip reading, but the look in Shulk’s eyes as he grasped Replica and the characters that scrolled in his left eye was enough to tell Toon what was to come. Toon reached behind his back, mimicking Shulk’s movements as he too pulled the Master Sword from its sheath, holding it in his left hand and the Hero’s Shield in his right. He nodded at Shulk, firm determination and courage written all over his face. In mutual agreement, both Shulk and Toon chased after the fleeing shadow of Rathalos. 

Chasing after the fleeing monster, Shulk and Toon traversed across a field and pushed their way through a broken ruin of a tower before they looked back up towards the sky. Rathalos was screeching as it flew in circles over a small plateau not too far away from the ruins before disappearing just over the top of the plateau. Silent agreement between the two as they raced towards the plateau. The stairs leading up the plateau was steep and narrow, making it hard for Shulk to maintain his balance as he climbed. It wasn’t much of a problem for Toon as he raced ahead, sometimes slowing down to help drag Shulk up a few steps every now and then. 

The top of the plateau was in sight as Shulk, with the help of Toon pushed forwards, finally clearing the long climb up the staircase and setting their sights on a large plateau. Large jagged boulders strewn on the edges of the plateau and very little grass dotted this hard rocky platform. There were black burn marks all across the ground and large claw marks had scarred the boulders scattered across the plateau. A few weeds and resilient trees were the only signs of life apart from the grass on the plateau and Rathalos was nowhere to be seen. Shulk felt something press against his back and looked over his shoulder to see Toon back to back with him, the small Hylian’s wide eyes searching the outcrop and looking out for Shulk’s blindspot as they drew their weapons, anticipating an attack from Rathalos. 

The ground shook as blades of air whipped around them, the blue lines across Shulk’s body flashing as he flinched from the multiple cuts and bruises he received from the sharp air that swirled around them. Toon held an arm over his face in attempts to block the wind as a shadow covered the sun above them, darkness falling like a cloak above Shulk and Toon before Rathalos crashed onto the ground. 

A large bipedal Wyvern landed on the rocky plateau before them. Rathalos had a spiny, armoured hide covering its body that was primarily a bright red colour with unique black markings that snaked across its rough scales. It had large wings that covered the whole plateau if he even just spread it out halfway, featuring ornate patterns of black that decorated its wing membrane. Finally it had a heavy spiked club as a tail that was heavily armed with large black spikes, swinging around dangerously behind it as Rathalos let out another deafening roar. 

Shulk instinctively flinched once more, the lines on his body glitching and buffering as he took a step back. Toon made a soft noise and Shulk shook his head, “I am fine,” he mouthed back. “Brace yourself.” Rathalos let out a roar and Shulk grabbed the hilt of Replica tighter. “Let’s settle this!” He cried out with a battle cry as he charged forward, the light blade of Replica activating and shooting out from the red blade as Shulk slashed it across Rathalos’ scaly armour on its neck. The blade immediately bounced back from recoil and Shulk nearly lost his footing, catching himself just in time to dodge out of the way of Rathalos’ horned head that swung right towards him. He breathed in deeply just as he heard an arrow whizz right past his head, bouncing off the thick armour hide of Rathalos and landing on the ground with a soft thunk. Toon drew back his bow once more, another arrow nocked on the strings as he aimed it at Rathalos’ head. 

Fire began to light Rathalos’ jaws, licking at its fangs and embers pouring from the gaps in its teeth. Toon let the arrow go as it shot through the air and landed right on the snout of Rathalos. It wasn’t quite enough to injure it but distracted it enough so that it sucked its flames back into its system in it’s surprise as Shulk followed up with a quick slash at its neck once more. The blade bounced fruitlessly off the thick armour and Rathalos immediately followed up with its wings. The claws on its wings stretched out and flung Shulk aside, causing the seer to crash into the ground hard. Dust flew all around Shulk as he shook his head and spat out some dirt, wiping the mud from his mouth as he did so. He looked back at Toon who had stopped firing and came to his aid, offering him a hand as he stood up. Shulk grasped at Replica once more as Toon lit up a bomb. 

Rathalos seemed full of itself as it let out another prideful roar towards the skies. It began to charge down the two warriors with its horned armoured head directed straight at them, its club-like tail swinging dangerously behind it as it advanced. Toon threw the lit bomb straight at Rathalos, which blew up and caused a veil of smoke to obscure the monster’s vision for a short period of time, giving both Shulk and Toon a small window frame to act, dodging in two opposing directions to escape the head-first charge of Rathalos. Rathalos growled and shook its head, ridding of the smoke that obscured its vision and flapped its wings out wide. It took to the skies and immediately shot a large fireball straight at Shulk. The blazing sphere of pure heat and flames approached Shulk at an incredible speed, giving Shulk no time to think about the consequences. A bright blue light emanating from the lines on his body and his left eye shifting to a pale blue colour. Light blue aura surrounded Shulk’s legs as he evaded the fireball in the nick of time thanks to his enhanced speed. Shulk grit his teeth and continued to evade the fireballs that came in succession after the first one, his improved agility and haste allowing him to get out of the assault unscathed. 

The whirring sound of a boomerang echoed through the air, nailing Rathalos right in the eye while it was focused on Shulk. The beast reared its head back and let out a screech of pain and anger as the boomerang returned safely to Toon who didn’t wait on Rathalos, pulling out another bomb and tossing it straight at the beast. Smoke billowed at the monster’s face once more as it howled in agony, allowing Shulk to find his bearings once more. The effects of the Monado’s Speed art began to wear off and Shulk could feel the repercussions of the art start to settle in. His legs ached and weighed him down, almost as heavy as lead. His movements began to slow and he could barely regroup with Toon before Rathalos lashed its sharp hind claws at the two warriors. Biting through the pain and fatigue, Shulk jumped back and so did Toon, albeit with more grace and speed. Rathalos growled and slammed itself back down onto the ground, separating the two warriors from regrouping. It let out a loud roar, loud and piercing causing Shulk to flinch and freeze up in a daze. Toon was unaffected by such an attempt from Rathalos and immediately threw another bomb at Rathalos who flinched and screeched at Toon. Just as Toon was about to fire another arrow at Rathalos, Shulk managed to shake himself from his daze and his eyes widened. “Toon! Run!” He cried out, momentarily forgetting that Toon couldn’t hear him. 

It was too late for Toon to even begin lip reading if he had even seen Shulk’s lips move while he was focused on shooting Rathalos, and the club like tail of Rathalos crashed right into Toon’s back. The young Hero of Winds let out a choked cough as he was sent flying into a boulder across the plateau, crashing into the rock and falling to the ground with a loud thud. “Toon!” Shulk cried wanting to reach Toon’s side, but his body couldn’t hold up as much as the fatigue in his legs made his knees buckle and Shulk fell to the ground on his knees. Deep pants escaped his lips as Shulk watched Rathalos slowly lumbering over to Toon. Toon was in a daze for quite some time, and when he finally came to, Rathalos was already charging headfirst towards him. With a yelp, the small Hylian leaped out of the way just as Rathalos smashed the boulder to pieces with its hard armoured head. Toon sucked in a breath, if that had hit him, his life would have ended right there. The stakes were high and risky now. While Rathalos shook itself free of debris, it gave Toon sufficient time to finally regroup with Shulk. The lines on Shulk’s body were glitching and flashing erratically and no matter how much Shulk tried to feign that he was alright, the lines on his body betrayed him every single time. “I am alright… really.” Shulk repeated too no avail, knowing that Toon did not believe him in the slightest but he still didn't want to worry this Hylian Hero. 

Rathalos lifted its wings into the air, circling above both Toon and Shulk as they fought to keep themselves in a more advantageous position in the fight. “Toon, I need you to throw your boomerang right at his eye again and follow it up directly with another bomb. Charge him with your Master Sword with me when he is blinded.” Shulk blurted out to Toon habitually, for in the heat of the moment he had forgotten yet again that Toon lacked the sense of hearing. Toon frowned at Shulk, wanting him to repeat again with the sign for it, and Shulk realised his mistake. Only it was too late. Rathalos threw yet another fireball straight at the two fighters causing and explosion of fire to combust between Shulk and Toon, flinging both of them in opposite directions away from each other. Toon managed to grab his footing but Shulk had a little more trouble as he landed on his side again, but managed to pick himself up in time as Rathalos once again placed itself between the two. “Toon your boomerang!” Shulk called out, but once again Toon couldn’t see his lip movements from that distance, neither could he hear. Instead of throwing his boomerang, Toon nocked an arrow and shot it straight at Rathalos, harmlessly bouncing off its scale armour. The wyvern gloated and let out a satisfying roar as it spun to try and close its jaws around Toon. 

“Buster!” Shulk shouted out loud as a purple aura surrounded Replica’s blade, his left eye was flashing with the kanji for Buster in a deep violet colour and lines that decorated is body glowed a vibrant lilac colour. Shulk let out a battle cry and sank the light blade straight into Rathalos’ neck, the damage boost from Buster art giving him the power needed to pierce right through the thick armour of Rathalos’ scales. Rathalos flashed purple, signifying the extra damage dealt from Buster art as Shulk followed up with a strengthened punch and jab at Rathalos' face. Rathalos screeched and roared in agony as it immediately reared away from Toon and raised its head towards the sky to let out a cry, dragging Shulk with it as he hung dangerously from Rathalos’ neck by grabbing onto Replica. Replica was lodged into Rathalos, stuck tight and did not budge from where it had pierced Rathalos’ hide, so Shulk had at least a good hand hold to grab onto as he was flung around like a rag doll while Rathalos tried to shake both Shulk and Replica off of it. Shulk grit his teeth together as he mustered all the strength he could to hold on while driving Replica’s light blade further and further into Rathalos’ neck, in attempts to slice right through. “Toon! Boomerang!” Shulk tried to call out, but another arrow soared straight into the monster’s face and embedded itself on a weakened spot on its snout from the bomb bombardment earlier. Rathalos flung its head back, managing to dislodge Replica from its neck and sending Shulk flying straight into the air.

Toon drew back another arrow ready to fire at Rathalos when Shulk landed onto Rathalos’ back from the previous thrashing and dug the light blade into Rathalos’ back. It was just then that Buster art ran out and Shulk was in for a whole other hell of pain. Just as Shulk reached his arm to clutch his chest where the heartburn was beginning to surface, he was flung off Rathalos and straight into the dirt where he groaned and hissed in pain. Bruises all over his body, the lines across his skin glitching and sparking in weird patterns and his face scrunched in pain as his breathing grew shallow with the welling pains of heartburn beginning to build up in his chest. Rathalos screeched and roared in pain as it backed away from Shulk, its foot stepping right into a small hole on the plateau and getting stuck for a moment. It's screeches echoed throughout the entire plateau and the frantic flapping of its wings sent sharp blades of wind whirring around the atmosphere while it tried to free itself. Its movements were slow and a lot more sluggish now, the damage dealt by Shulk’s desperate assault with Buster art had taken its toll on both himself and Rathalos.

Toon quickly ran over to Shulk and knelt down next to the Visionary, his lips quivering as he tried to run a gently small hand on Shulk’s back to try and ease him. The heartburn raced and stabbed Shulk hard, his entire chest felt like exploding and he could feel his head getting dizzy with pain and fatigue from the constant use of Monado arts. “Toon… Look… look out.” Shulk rasped between sharp shallow breaths, but his lips could barely move and his body refused to comply with his desire to sign to Toon his warning. The large club of a tail smacked Toon right across the face for the second time this fight, sending the tiny Hylian tumbling off towards the edge of the plateau as Rathalos weakly slammed its clawed foot over Shulk, hungry for revenge despite its injuries. Shulk coughed and weakly tried to push Rathalos’ claws off of him to no avail. Rathalos breathed menacingly straight into Shulk’s pale and sweat drenched face, the heat of Rathalos’ respiration was interfering with the fresh air Shulk needed to endure his heartburn. Shulk coughed violently and his body began to get weaker and weaker as it tried to focus its energy on enduring the heartburn welling up in his body. 

Toon shook himself and pushed the rubble off his body, but his ribs were ready to give way from all the abuse he received from being impacted by Rathalos’ tail one too many times. He struggled to push himself up and breathe, but he managed to get into a position to see Shulk under Rathalos. The lines on Shulk’s body were no longer the bright blue they once were, and were instead starting to fade, becoming a dark blue and even losing its luster from what he could see. Toon’s fist curled up on the ground as he forced himself to stand. The pain was excruciating, it hurts so much, he could barely find the strength to stand up, let alone make it to Shulk in time. 

_‘It’s all because of me… all because I can’t hear. I couldn’t hear Shulk’s instructions or advice. Some Hero I am. What good is courage if I can’t even stand and help him? What good am I even being here to help him?’_

_‘What can I do? Our defeat was set in Shiekah stones since the very beginning…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the conclusion of the Rathalos fight. I intend to finish it as soon as possible, but I am not the best at writing fighting sequences so I apologize in advance for any discrepancies in my writing. I will try my best in the future fighting scenes when it really gets important!
> 
> Until then, thank you for supporting Sacrifice to Light Darkness up until now. We will be seeing the angelic hero and captain of Lady Palutena's Guard soon, I know I am dying to write about him.


	6. Rathalos II

### Chapter 6: Rathalos II

“What’s the matter? Why the long face? You CAN see them, can’t you? Hm hm hm…”

‘Grandma? Why are you? Why can I hear you?’ Link muttered as he stood up. He was no longer wearing his hero’s tunic, but instead his blue lobster pyjamas from Outset Island. His eyes glanced around him, he was no longer at Forest Hill, but the salty sea breeze and caws of seagulls above made it all clear. He was on Outset Island. His Grandma stood before him with a wide and warm smile. Was all that happened with Galeem and Rathalos all just… a dream? ‘Grandma… I had the weirdest dream. There was a ball of light, everything went black and I lost my hearing and then I saw a giant Wyvern and-‘ 

“You are surprisingly dull-witted.” 

Link swivelled around to see the Kind of Red Lions just casually floating on the waves on the coast of Outset Island. The boat gave a loud laugh and Link frowned at the boat. ‘What do you mean? I just said I saw a dream… why are you here anyways?’

The King of Red Lions did not respond, staring straight at Link as he frowned and squinted at the boat. ‘Fine, ignore me! Who cares about some stupid dream anyways?’ Link pouted and looked back at Grandma. ‘I am sorry Grandma… lets just go back home. I cannot wait to try your soup again!’ Link was about to rush back when he felt a tug at his pyjamas. “Big brother…” Aryll mumbled as she tugged at his shirt once more. “Why are you running?”

Running?

‘I am not running from anything Aryll… Why would you say that?’ Link retorted, turning around abruptly to frown at Aryll who just looked at him straight in the eye, her determination evident. “Are you planning on leaving him alone?” Link narrowed his eyes, squinting at Aryll as he bent down to look her eye to eye. ‘Who are you talking about?’ Aryll placed both hands on Link’s cheek and forced him to turn and look in the other direction away from the sea. Immediately the scenery changed and he saw where he truly was. The plateau was littered with rubble and debris from their battle against Rathalos and the Boss in question was standing over Shulk’s weakened body, ready to roast him alive with the flames that licked at its jaws. 

‘I-I…’ Link stammered as he tried to avert his eyes away, wishing and willing for it to all be just a dream until he felt the stinging pain of Aryll slapping him in the face. It felt so real… “Pull yourself together big brother! He still believes in you! You are the only one capable of doing anything!” Aryll insisted as she tugged at his clothes. “Are you just going to leave him to die? You told me you would do anything to rescue me, so please use that strength to rescue him!” 

‘I can’t!’ Link screamed back at Aryll. ‘I can’t hear anything, I am nothing more than a burden to him. I couldn’t carry out a single command at all! It was all because I cannot hear!’ He was met with another resounding slap, not from Aryll this time but from Grandma. The frail old lady shook her head at Link and held out the ever so familiar green tunic to him. “And you believe that to be a reason to give up now?” Link blinked at Grandma in shock and quickly shook his head. ‘No, no! Its not… its not that… but I…’ Link clenched his fist and bit his lip as he looked away from Grandma and Aryll. ‘What can I do?’ 

He felt something nudge at his hand and he looked up to lock eyes with the King of Red Lions, its jaws holding the familiar sword, the sword of evil’s bane: The Master Sword. “You have the Master Sword! That sword shall shine in the darkness, casting back evil… With it in your hands, none can keep you from saving him from this fate!” Link was then forcibly turned around to stare at none other than Tetra herself. “Look kid, are you just going to stand here and not do anything? Are you going to get splinters and cry?” She teased before pushing the Hero’s Shield into Link’s hands. “Why don’t you just try harder to work as a team? You have always worked alone all this time, but what’s stopping you from actually putting in the effort to trust and actually look at others for once? A pirate crew cannot survive with just the captain you see.” She smiled and slapped Link on the back. “Watch him carefully this time you scallywag!” Tetra snickered as she joined Aryll, Grandma and the King of Red Lions to stand in a line in front of Link. 

“You are the Hero of Winds aren’t you? The Hero of Courage chosen by the Goddesses. You should not be hesitating here. He is waiting for you.” 

“Even if you cannot hear!” Aryll chuckled as she handed him his Hero’s Bow. 

“Even if you are out of your element.” The King of Red Lions huffed as he forced the Master Sword into Link’s hands. 

“Even if you are tired and your back weighs you down…” Grandma smiled as she helped Link put on his Hero’s tunic. 

“You can use your other senses to help guide both of you to victory.” Tetra encouraged with another hearty slap to the back and then turning Link back to face the battlefield.

* * *

His hand grasped around something small, rough and covered in dirt, his fingers clasping around the object and he grit his teeth. Toon heaved himself out of the dirt with a groan as his bleary eyes blinked at Rathalos standing over Shulk in the distance. None of his weapons would reach him in time, he needed time… he needed to stop Rathalos now. His gaze glanced over the small object in his palms, brown and grainy to the touch: A Deku Nut. 

Clenching the small Deku nut tightly, Toon wound his arm backwards and breathed in deeply despite his bruised lungs. He watched Rathalos carefully as he swooped in to crush Shulk between his jaws, careful spatial calculations in his head whirled like a cyclone, it reminded him of Tetra’s ramblings about aerial physics while he was still travelling the great sea with her. Eyesight sharp, he took aim. “SHULK!” He cried out, his intonation shaky and shrill as he hurled the Deku nut forward. 

The small little nut flew through the air like a bullet, forcing itself past any air resistance as it hurtled towards Rathalos. The giant dragon looked up at the sound of Toon’s shrill cry opening its mouth to fire a giant fireball that began to form in its throat when the nut slammed right into its snout and exploded into a giant spark of light and smoke. With a shriek, Rathalos quickly took a few steps back, clawing at its own face as it tried to regain its sight. Teetering and confused, Rathalos backed away from Shulk, screeching, clawing and struggling to make sense of its dizzying surroundings. 

A cough forced itself out of Shulk’s lips as he rolled over, eyes of a dull blue blurry and straining themselves to keep open as he turned to face Toon. Shulk could feel his entire body on fire, scalding the inside of his throat and lungs, his heart pounding hard against his ribs and his body blue with bruises. His lips parted slowly, bone dry and cracked as he finally managed to squeak out a response, “Toon…” he could barely muster out as he clawed at the ground in an attempt to pull himself towards the young Hero of Winds. 

Toon’s body ached, his muscles were sore and numb from the abuse he took from Rathalos flinging him across the battlefield prior but he continued to strain them past their limit. Arms screaming in pain as Toon managed to push himself onto his feet, his legs wanted to cave in under him, his knees threatening to buckle under the young Hylian’s weight, but Toon managed to make his way over to Shulk. The two warriors looked at each other and Toon could only give an apologetic look to Shulk, eyes red and shiny with tears. “I am sorry- I could not help…” His words flickering between intonations and volume, raspy and weak as Toon coughed out. Shulk gave Toon a weak smile as he attempted to push himself up, but his body was oddly weak, weaker than any other time he had misused his arts up till this point. 

Their celebration was cut short as Rathalos finally managed to regain its footing and let out a deafening screech, which caused Shulk to flinch and curl up as Toon attempted to put up a brave front despite his trembling, shaking and aching body. The Wyvern screeched and took to the skies, its claws black and laced with purple poison as it looked down at Toon and Shulk on the ground. Without even a screech of warning, Rathalos dived down with its claws outstretched. Toon yelped and rolled out of the way, but Shulk… Toon bit his lip hard and quickly activated his hook shot, grabbing and pulling Shulk towards him just in time before Rathalos landed on the ground once more. Shulk’s frail body landed with a loud thud on the ground and Toon rolled a little further out, a cloud of dust covering him making him cough up a fit. 

Rubbing his eyes of the dust, Toon looked towards Rathalos who was starting to have smoke pour from its nostrils. The red eyes of the Wyvern was narrow and seething with a bright blaze as it licked its jaws and fangs with its tongue. Rathalos’ scales were scratched, peeling and even shedding in multiple places of its huge body, its wings were a little tattered now that he had stopped moving allowing Toon to analyse the Wyvern. The horns on his head were bow blunt and chipped and his claws no longer shone with the same ouster when they first engaged in battle.

Toon held up his shield at the beast and they started to pace each other, circling each other. Toon could feel that the muscles in his legs were starting to give way, his movements were shaky and hesitant with each step, almost like it hurt to even move his leg up. Their eyes locked on each other and Rathalos lunged forward in its final attempt to finish both warriors off once and for all. Toon readied his shield but the moment he took a step forward, his knees finally gave in, causing him to lose his footing and his vision went from Rathalos to the ground. In his fall he felt something push him, a voice whispered in his head. ‘He is waiting for you. Work with him’. Tetra seemed to permeate his mind, as Toon felt his shoulder crashing into the dirt. Shaking his head, Toon quickly lifted his head off the ground just in time to cross eyes with Shulk whose left eye was glowing a bright purple. His sword decorated and glowing with the familiar purple aura and Shulk was panting hard as he struggled to get off his knees, but he made an effort to turn to Toon and smiled weakly before he threw the sword into the ground, the blade digging deep into the ground and staying fast.

Rathalos crashed straight into Shulk, sending the Visionary flying and crashing into the earth away from Toon, a loud scream of pain forced its way out of Shulk’s throat, not that Toon could hear it, but he could feel and see it. From the way Shulk landed on the ground so violently to the way he saw the grimace on Shulk’s face. awful. Awful. AWFUL. Suddenly the ground around Toon shook with great force much like an earthquake. A wave of strong winds whipped past Toon causing him to instinctively grab onto his hat and the ground to brace himself. Blinking, Toon looked up at where Rathalos was, only to see that the Wyvern was crippled on the ground, its wings weak and jerking as it tried to push itself up. Caught in its ankle was Shulk’s sword which it had tripped over in its charge. 

His fighting sense kicked in, Toon knew he had to finish it now. If he didn’t, there wouldn’t be a second chance. Not at this fight, not at life, both for him and Shulk. Run away? Not anymore. He felt someone hoist him up on the shoulder, he could feel a hand guiding his sword he felt a warm hand on his back, pushing him forward and finally a finger that directed him towards Ratahlos’ head. His body rushing with confidence, courage and adrenaline, Toon stood in front of Rathalos' face, his body though tiny was able to cover Ratahlos face with a shadow, blocking the sun that hung high in the sky behind him. He felt four hands guide his sword as he held the tip of the blade in front of Rathalos’ forehead between the dragon’s eyes. 

‘Goodnight.’

For once, his words brimming with confidence and did not waver like it usually did as he drove the sword straight into Rathalos’ head. The dragon froze with its mouth open as it seemed to… smile? The body of the dragon slowly seemed to melt into smoke as it slowly broke down and disappeared into dull particles of red and black. Where Rathalos last lay was nothing but dust on the battlefield.

* * *

“See?” Tetra jeered as she nudged Link in the shoulder causing the young Hylian to double over and land in the sand. Link cough slightly as he looked up at Tetra with a slight squint in his eyes only to receive a smirk in return. “I told you that it was possible! All you had to do was to look out for him more right?” 

Link felt something tug at his shirt and looked down to see Aryll with a bright grin across her face. “If big brother didn’t take Shulk with him, then the big scary dragon would not have tripped right? The extra damage that Shulk did was enough to trip him right?” Aryll giggled as Link sheepishly nodded. ‘Yeah… it was because of him and…’

He lifted his head to look at all of them: Tetra, Aryll, Grandma and the King of Red Lions. ‘All of you…’ He smiled warmly, his eyes heavy with tears as they began to cascade down his cheek as he choked on his own cries. ‘I did it… I actually did it… even without hearing anything… I-’

Tetra gave him a slap on his back as Link caught his footing only to snap back at the pirate captain. ‘Hey!-’ He stopped when he saw Tetra- no Zelda, for the pirate captain was no longer in her pirate wear but in the royal garments of the true Princess of Hyrule. With a warm smile, Zelda held out her hands to Link and the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand began to glow. 

The light of the Triforce linked with Link’s Triforce of Courage and a surge of light engulfed Link’s body. He felt… energised. The fatigue that plagued his body receded away almost naturally and he could feel his legs becoming stronger and stranger under him. The bruises that decorated his skin also paled and melted away with no scars left behind. Link looked up at Zelda who only smiled at him before he felt Aryll tackle him from behind. 

“Big brother.” She began as her voice started to fade away. “Help him as well, okay?” 

Link felt his tongue become heavy as he watched Aryll, Zelda, Grandma and the King of Red Lions fade away, but even so in the light that started to flood his vision, he knew the answer in his heart, and they too probably knew it as well.

* * *

Toon woke up with a start, or well his eyes flew open as he fell back to land on the ground with a thud. The Master Sword finally clattered on the ground loudly right in front of him as Toon processed what just happened. His mind was a mess, confused and struggling to understand what had just occurred before a thought shot right through the confusion. 

Shulk.

Toon scrambled to his feet, grabbing the Master Sword to sheathe it in its scabbard on his back as Toon ran towards the fallen Seer. He belatedly noticed the lack of injury and pain that his body had during the fight but that was the least of his concern at the moment as he managed to tumbled across the scorched battlefield and kneel down next to the unconscious figure of Shulk. 

Shulk, to put it frankly, was in horrible shape. Bruises painted his body with black and blue, burns had seared his pale skin and most importantly, the light of the blue lines that decorated his body was starting to die. It was flickering weakly, the light was starting to fade and die away and the more it flickered and dulled away, the colder Shulk’s body became. His fingers were starting to become stiff and his face was transitioning into a paler colour as the blood drained from his face. His unconscious body lay there unmoving, not even twitching when Toon tried to shake him awake. 

Panic began to bubble inside Toon as he bit his lip and wrung his hands. He had to do something, but he didn’t have any healing potions or herbs. He wanted to question why he was healed but Shulk wasn’t but he concluded it be due to the Triforce doing its thing and quickly turned back to Shulk in a desperate attempt to rack his brain for any solution he could think of. 

Knowing his own inventory had nothing to heal Shulk with, Toon’s eyes glazed over to Shulk’s bag. Grabbing Shulk’s bag he started to mess around, putting his hands into the bottomless bag and feeling around its contents in hopes of pulling up something, anything that could help. His fingers brushed over something hard and smooth and he immediately inferred that it was a potion bottle and he grabbed it. Pulling it out, Toon immediately felt the colour drain from his face. It wasn’t a potion or even a bottle, but a smooth crystal glistening with a pale blue light. The way the light danced and glittered off the crystals were mesmerising, entrancing even to Toon as he awed at its beauty, it reminded him dearly of-

Fairies!

Toon knew from his adventures that fairies were attracted to shiny objects much like this crystal, if he could blow it up into shards and scatter them around the area, maybe a fairy would flutter by and heal Shulk. He wasn’t sure if fairies existed in this particular area they were in, but he had to give it a shot. It was his only option. Grabbing more of the pale blue crystals from Shulk’s bag, Toon lay them around Shulk in a circle and lit a bomb from his own stash and placed it next to the crystals a good way away from Shulk. With a deep breath, Toon lit the bombs and quickly went for cover as the force of the explosions soon rocked the earth, followed by a beautiful shower of sparkling crystal shards and a weird wave of energy. 

Toon wasn’t sure what those crystals that Shulk had were, he wasn’t familiar with the items from Shulk’s world of the Bionis after all, so he had no idea what he had just blown up were ether crystals. 

A wave of pure ether energy began to surround both Toon and Shulk, Toon felt the dense energy settle on his skin and soon dissipate away, much like a temporary layer of mist that had settled and cloaked both him and Shulk. He watched wide eyed at the sparkling crystal shards in the air before shaking himself and forced himself into a serious face as he started to look out for fairies that might have been attracted to the scene. 

But he didn’t need to. 

Toon felt something stir in the air around him, and he quickly whipped his head around. He thought it was a fairy but he was soon proven wrong by something lightly touching his hand. Toon yelped and jumped back before realising that the one who touched him was Shuk. Turquoise eyes of a weak glimmer stared at Toon and the dry cracked lips of Shulk began to move slowly as Toon quickly cried out in surprise and began to shake Shulk, checking his heart and tracing the lines on his body. The lines on Shulk’s body began to flicker brighter and brighter, soon permanently lighting up with a faint blue glow, and that was when Shulk finally regained some semblance of consciousness. 

A groan finally made its way out of Shulk as he twitched, blinking his eyes rapidly as he focused his vision on the frantic Toon that kneeled beside him. He watched Toon’s panicked eyes melt in one of relief and the young hylian’s worried look turned into a warm smile as Toon flung himself over Shulk and started to cry. Shulk let Toon’s shrill and messy cries fill the battlefield around them, echoing through the plateau as he lay there. 

Shulk let out a long sigh, relishing in the relief that he was still alive. He was certain that he had died in the moment that Rathalos tossed him aside like a rag doll with that charge but here he was, still breathing, moving and alive. That he was grateful for. Shulk allowed his fingers to twitch a little bit before bringing his arm up to his side to push him into a sitting position. His body was rid of its initial bruising and aches from the battle. Even the repercussions from using his arts had long left his body. How did this happen?

His mind wandered around until it laid its gaze upon a large shard of crystal right next to him. Shulk reached out gingerly and picked up the crystal, squinting at the shard. “These look like normal water ether crystals…” he murmured to himself before the lines closest to the crystal began to pulsate with light. Shulk watched as the ether crystal shattered in his light grip and a cloak of pure ether energy was absorbed into the lines that adorned his body. He felt a slight pulse of energy surge through his body that caused his entire body to shudder in response. Shulk looked at the lines of his body and began to formulate a few hypotheses in his mind, a smile decorating his lips at the discovery he had made. 

His line of thought was soon interrupted by movement on his lap as well as a sudden murmur echoing. Shulk sighed as he looked at Toon on his lap, sleeping soundly with red and sore eyes from crying and he smiled weakly. “He cried himself to sleep…” Shulk observed as he picked up Toon gently and positioned him on his back over his shoulders. “I am sorry for worrying you Toon and thank you.” Shulk walked over to the dusty battlefield to retrieve his sword before walking towards the edge of the plateau. Shulk gave a final look at the battlefield before he descended down the stairs to search for the exit from this dimension. 

Shulk walked through the forests, the ruins, over the path next to the waterfall plunge pool until he got to the clearing that was more than familiar to him. Glowing through the thicket of trees was a column of light that shot high into the sky. With a deep breath, Shulk lowered Toon back onto the ground to lean the young Hylian against a tree. “I don’t want to leave without Toon to finally see the success of our battle.” He reasoned as he resorted back to experimenting with the ether crystals. 

Fiddling into his satchel, Shulk pulled out many different types of ether crystals and began to expose the lines on his body to the ether crystals. He was brimming with curiosity about the properties of ether and his body’s reaction to it, watching and noting mentally the different ways his body reacted to the crystals. 

It took quite some time for him to finally come to a conclusion. Due to the Monado being able to manipulate the ether around it in order to provide him with the arts he used, the ether required by the Monado was great in quantity. The way the blade managed to convert such large amounts of ether was something contained within the blade’s mechanism that he never realised before. The issue now was that his body was the medium through which the Monado’s ether manipulation ability was processed through and since his body was not used to absorbing ether at a rate the original blade was able to, his body suffered from ether depletion which caused those horrible side effects when his arts were on cooldown. He realised this when Toon exploded the water ether crystal into the atmosphere which was spread in an easy to absorb way for Shulk’s body to assimilate the ether and thus replenish the lack of ether within his body. 

Closing his observation journal, Shulk laughed weakly. He should have known this, after all he had seen something similar to happen to Melia when he first met her, the way she was pale and unconscious from ether depletion. It all made sense now. Shulk bit his lip as his mind shifted over to his companions who he finally realised were also consumed by lights, forced into spirits to pilot the puppets roaming the world. Burying his face into his knees, Shulk ignored how the lines of his body glowed and pulsates slowly and sadly to reflect his inner turmoil. 

The bright orange setting sun soon shone down upon the clearing when Toon finally came to. The young Hylain blinked wearily as he rubbed his eyes and yawned. With a stretch, Toon straightened himself against the tree was leaning against and looked at Shulk who was sitting next to him. He watched how the lines on Shulk’s body was glowing slowly with an unsteady pattern to it and Toon bit his lip before flinging his arms around Shulk. Shulk woke with a start and smiled when he saw Toon. 

“Good evening, Toon.” 

Toon didn’t need his hearing to know what Shulk said as he too signed back with ‘evening’. 

A day had soon passed by since Toon and Shulk managed to conquer Rathalos, and after taking a night to rest and recuperate, they were finally ready to leave the Forest Hill area. 

“Are you ready Toon?” Shulk asked, knowing full well that even if Toon couldn’t hear him, that the young Hero of Winds was more than excited to finally leave this Forest. With an excited nod from Toon, the two exited the Forest Hill area, stepping into the column of light and allowing themselves to be teleported back to the Light Realm.

* * *

Landing back on the beach, Shulk first noticed that the puppets that were in the area when he first visited were now gone. No matter which direction he looked, searched or heard, there was no sign of any puppet anywhere. It seemed like someone had come to clear up all the puppets and free the spirits controlling them while he was fighting off Rathalos, and he silently thanked the unknown hero. His mind was soon snapped back to reality when he saw Toon run off towards the edge of the thicket of trees where the portal once was. 

Catching up to Toon, Shulk noted how excited the young hero was by how jumpy and gleeful Toon was now that he was finally out of the Forest Hill area. Soon they came to the edge of the island where the salty sea lapped at the coast line and the thick scent of salt filled the air around them. Shulk sighed in relief at Toon who was kicking at the water and squealing in delight at finally seeing the ocean. 

Shulk allowed Toon to take his time with the salty waves as he surveyed his surroundings. His eyes laid upon a small outcrop of the island where there was a grey pipe on the sandy beach. Shulk quickly went to tap Toon on the shoulder before gesturing to the pipe. Toon looked up from the salty ocean water to squint at the grey pipe before nodding. Shulk laughed slightly as Toon dried his hands on his tunic before following next to Shulk. 

They both arrived next to the pipe and Shulk bit his lip. He wasn’t sure if this pipe was safe and he turned to Toon. “What do you say Toon?” Toon furrowed his brow, giving Shulk a weird expression as he formulated the words that Shulk said through lip reading before snapping his tiny fingers together and pointed to himself with a confident smile. “You want to try first?” Shulk coughed out, shocked at Toon’s proposal and Toon nodded. Shulk wanted to retort but seeing the courageous glint in Toon’s eyes, he was reminded who Toon was. The Hero of Courage. 

Sighing in defeat, Shulk realised that Toon finally regained the courage he had long lost when he first met him at Forest Hill and he didn’t want to let it go to waste now. Picking Toon up under his shoulder and placing Toon on the edge of the pipe, Shulk climbed up onto the edge as well. He looked warily at the darkness in the pipe and before he could say anything, Toon jumped right on in. 

Shulk almost doubled over in shock but steeled his resolve. He took in a deep breath. “It will be alright. Trust in Toon.” He reassured himself before following Toon through the pipe.

* * *

“Hey, are you awake? Please say you are awake!”

Shulk groaned and stirred as he forced his heavy eyelids to crack open. His vision was blurry and he could barely make out the figure standing above him. From the blurry colours he could make out, the brown haired figure dressed in white was standing over him waving their hands in front of Shulk’s face and trying to shake him awake. Shulk let out mother groan as he lifted his arm to rub his eyes. The voice was so familiar… like he had heard it in a dream before…

“Oh thank god he is coming to! Wake up Shulk! Stop worrying us!” The voice cried out again. Shulk felt the figure shake him over and over again until he finally found the strength in him to push himself into a sitting position. With his vision cleared, Shulk finally surveyed the situation. Sitting on his legs was Toon whose eyes were wide with worry but soon smiled widely and hugged Shulk. Shulk felt his breath left his body in the tackle but soon recovered to see his saviour. 

With wild hazel brown hair that slightly hid away a golden laurel crown behind his ears, pure white wings folded nicely behind his back, pure white toga clipped up by a red jewel as well as a bright blue right eye and a bandage over his left eye. A wide smile came upon the angel’s lips. “You are finally awake! You made us so worried. I swear to Palutena that if you were dead because of that, I would have not been able to tell Toon anything!” 

Shulk shook his head and smiled weakly. “Well, Toon wouldn’t be able to hear the news anyways. It's good to see you Pit.” Pit smiled widely and gave Shulk a thumbs up. “Good to see you too Shulk. Now if you would, could you tell me what those lines on your arms are?”

Shulk paused and watched as Toon got up, allowing Shulk to stand up and finally get on his feet. “It is a long story Pit. Let's find a safer place to talk and catch up first.” 

“Sounds good! I have a camp not too far from here! Let go there for now.” Pit exclaimed excitedly as he stood up, his left wing drooped weakly behind his back and his left arm fell limp to his side as he grabbed Shulk’s hand with his right hand and dragged him along as Toon followed with slight giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than I imagined because I had issues figuring out the fight scene’s conclusion. But here I am now. I worry I might not have written both Shulk and Toon’s characters as well I wanted to because of how much gap there was in between writing. I will try my best!
> 
> I will introduce Pit more in the next chapter which will be a lot more light hearted than this one for sure.


	7. Pit’s Guidance: Mirrored Images with a Side of Food

### Chapter 7: Pit’s Guidance: Mirrored Images with a Side of Food

Pushing aside the branches and leaves that obscured the path forward, Pit gestured to Toon and Shulk to follow him deeper into the jungle, using his bow’s sharp edge to cut through the undergrowth to make their journey easier. Gripping the weapon strongly in his right, Pit used the same arm to sweep aside a weeping willow thicket to reveal a small wooden hut in the middle of a deep clearing of the jungle. Helping Toon get over a large root of a tree with his right arm, Pit grinned and waved at the hut with his weapon. 

“Welcome to Pit’s Humble Hut for Weary Travellers!” 

The hut was a small wooden shack overgrown by vines and roots, but it still stood strong and sturdy with its wooden pillars and supports upright with no hint of weakness. The wood looked old but the lacquer that covered the surface was still intact, giving the hut a rustic look from the outside. The small stairs leading into the hut were rickety and creaked with every step taken on it, but it continued to withstand the weight of the three that huddled into the hut. There wasn’t much to say about the inside other than the hut had a counter with cutlery and used kitchenware on it and there was a pile of weapons, which obviously belonged to Pit, strewn all over the floor. Upperdash Arm, Guardian Orbitars and a spare Palutena’s Bow. Throwing his weapon onto the ground, Pit moved over to a small pot at the end of the hut and grinned.

“So what do you guys want me to make you? I have all sorts of food and resources that we can get from the jungle around us!” Pit announced with his signature upbeat tone, looking between Shulk and Toon with his one bright blue right eye. Shulk and Toon looked at each other and a very slight chuckle which made Pit tilt his head in confusion before Shulk spoke up, “Sorry about that Pit. It’s just that Toon and I have only eaten one thing ever since we both woke up, usually from the sea and river-“ 

“WHAT?” Pit exclaimed out in horror as Shulk flinched back in response, the bright blue lines on the visionary’s skin flickering and glitching before he settled himself to look back at the exasperated angel. “Have you two been eating nothing but fish this entire time?! Let me cook for you!” Pit cried out before he immediately left the hut with a rush of feathers.

Shulk watched as the angel disappeared out of the hut with a sigh, “You already offered to cook for us…” He muttered to himself before shifting his gaze to Toon. The young Hylain hero was already up and about exploring the small hut that Pit had claimed ownership of. The little waker of winds poked at the weapons on the floor before moving to grab a feather from the floor and brought it to Shulk. Laughing in response, Shulk accepted the feather graciously before allowing Toon to continue his exploration. 

Fiddling with Pit’s fallen feather in his fingers, Shulk watched the lines on his fingers glow and pulsate with a rhythmic beat as he pondered on the light angel’s appearance. The bandage on the angel’s left eye did not seem to be bleeding and he knew from prior interaction with the angel that the divine entities’ wounds healed easily. Then why…? Shulk made a clicking sound with his tongue as he referred back to the appearance of Pit in his head. His left arm and wing were also weak and barely used during their short interaction together… almost as if his left side didn’t work- 

As if on cue, Pit crashed back into the hut with a bunch of vegetables, mushrooms and fruits, all the while having this wide goofy smile across his face. “The jungle is full of all these fruit and vegetables! You should see for yourself! It all looks so good…” Pit drooled while reminiscing before shaking himself out of his trance and moved over to the pot over the dead fireplace. “Do you guys have any preference? I will take any sort of order that isn’t fish, you guys should be getting a good healthy diet and not just eat fish.” Pit chided only for Shulk to quip back on his own. “Says the angel who eats hamburgers all the time.” 

Pit flushed red and immediately tried to cover it with a laugh as he twiddled with his thumbs. “Well you see, an angel like me doesn’t get sick… so I can eat whatever I want… but humans like you need a proper diet!” The light angel tried to fight back to no avail as Shulk chuckled lightly to himself and moved over to help the angel with his preparations. As Toon lit up the fireplace on Shulk’s sign, the other two got to peeling the fruits and washing the vegetables, which Pit used as an opportunity to talk to the seemingly more talkative one of the pair that he had only recently found. 

“So…?” Pit grinned curiously as he gestured at Shulk’s fingers where the blue lines were glowing ever so faintly. “Can you finally tell me what those lines on your skin are?” Pit looked up at Shulk expectantly, his one bright blue eye wide and shining bright with innocence at the query as the seer sighed in response. 

“It’s not just on my fingers.” Shulk began as he ran the apples under running water, he gave a look of disgust at the vegetables that Pit was preparing but chose not to chase it until later. “The lines are all over my body and particularly on my chest. You can even see the lines under my eyes.” Shulk paused for a moment to let Pit have a good look on his face, showing the singular blue lines that came down his cheek from his eyes towards his neck. Pit awed at Shulk’s face before the visionary continued. “These lines are the lines on the Monado.” 

“Your sword? But your sword is right there!” Pit commented as he pointed a stalk of wild greens at Replica propped up against the wooden walls. Shulk held back a cough as he continued. “That is just a replica of the Monado and not the actual sword itself. I made it in the likeness of the Monado but the real blade’s power…” Shulk held a hand towards his chest and sighed. “The power is within me. I can use the Monado’s powers from within me.”

“That's so cool!” Pit exclaimed as he waved his right arm around excitedly, which was dangerous seeing that he held a knife in his grip. Shulk visibly flinched which prompted the angel to calm himself and return to his goofy grin. “It's almost like you have a really cool tattoo now, it suits you, Shulk.” Pit complemented as he threw the vegetables into the boiling pot behind him.

“Yeah… it does…” Shulk muttered as he placed the apples neatly on a wooden plate Pit had taken out from the pile of cutlery in the hut. The lines on Shulk’s face began to fade and flicker slightly and his body shuddered a little as Shulk suppressed the urge to flinch in his weakness, although that did not seem to escape the observant eyes of his companions. Pit eyed him sharply for a moment before he saw Toon run up to Shulk and tug at the visionary’s jacket, holding out a light blue crystal to the seer with a wide grin. A look of concern painted Shulk’s face as Toon’s fingers and arms flew across in a flurry of gestures, which made both Shulk cringe and Pit even more confused. 

“Toon…” Shulk began before Pit impatiently chimed in. “What did Toon say? You guys really have to teach me that sign language later, it's better than learning how to read.” Shulk sighed as he took the crystal from Toon and placed it on the counter top. “My body is deprived of ether when I use my Monado arts, so Toon wants me to ensure I constantly replenish it to make sure I don’t faint from ether depletion. We just finished fighting Rathalos and my body is still reeling from that fight.” 

“What?!” Pit spluttered in disbelief as he looked from Shulk to Toon to the water based ether crystals on the counter. “How do you absorb the ether from those crystals then?” Shulk pondered on it for a little bit, but he only knew from prior experience on the Bionis that Sharla used her rifle shells to blow up ether crystals in the air surrounding Melia to help replenish her ether. Toon had done the same thing to him after the fight with Rathalos as well, so he told Pit what he knew at the moment.

The angel was silent for a moment as he suddenly seemed to think deeply about something before he looked at Shulk with a glint of mischief in his eyes. Grabbing the ether crystal, Pit walked up to Shulk, a wide grin plastered across his face. “Pit… what are you thinking?” Shulk gulped as he took a step back. Pit chuckled as he held the crystal tightly in his grip. “Exploding the crystal would attract attention from any puppets in the area, so why not try to make you absorb this ether in a different way?”

“Pit, I do not like where this is going-“ Shulk began but he didn’t get to finish before Pit shoved the crystal into his mouth. “EAT IT!” Pit ordered as he forced the crystal down Shulk’s throat. In his shock, Shulk began to gag, fighting against Pit’s strong grip even though the angel was only using one arm in this tussle. Thankfully the crystal was small, but that didn’t make it all the more comfortable for the seer. In shock, Shulk swallowed the crystal whole much to his dismay but to Pit’s satisfaction. They stared at each other for a moment in dead silence, Pit watching Shulk like a hawk and the latter holding his own sore throat, coughing slightly, with a frantic Toon running between them as if worried they would break out in a fight when Shulk let out a gasp.

The lines on his body lit up with an even brighter blue glow, glimmering with an intensity Shulk had never witnessed before. His body felt lighter and almost stronger after swallowing that crystal whole. It left a foul texture in his throat, however. “It… The ether within me… It feels better than ever…” he finally gasped out when he looked at Pit who smirked in victory, placing his right arm on his waist. “Lady Palutena had these crystal orbs called recovery orbs for me to eat during missions in the sky to recover my strength so I assumed it worked the same way for you. Sure it may feel weird at first but you will get used to it.” 

“You didn’t have to force the crystal down my throat though.” Shulk argued back, his words laced with a bit of bite which only received a shrug from the angel in question. “If I didn’t you would never have willingly agreed to eat it. I didn't mean any harm to you, we are all comrades in this situation, so don’t think bad of me. It will be bad if you fainted from that ‘ether depletion’ condition you mentioned.” Shulk could not argue with that logic, instead opting to tell Pit he wasn’t ever doing that again unless the crystals were ground up as a powder to be consumed. 

“The thought of eating whole crystals makes me want to hurl.” Shulk reasoned with the angel, which the angel had reluctantly agreed. 

The stew was done as soon as that whole sequence was over and Shulk offered to plate the food for the group, specifically because he wanted to make sure his plate did not have those dreaded greens. With the plates served and handed out, Pit couldn’t help but pull Shulk into a long detailed conversation about his fight with Rathalos, which Shulk was reluctant to since he really wanted to figure out what was wrong with Pit but seeing how Toon was excited to tell the story as well, he obliged. 

“I think it will be a good time to teach you the sign language that Toon and I use so you can converse with Toon yourself.” Shulk supplemented with a laugh as he took another spoon of stew. The angel perked up at the thought, blue eye glittering as he sat in front of Shulk, his look reminding Shulk of Toon’s: young, innocent and full of curiosity. Pit wasn’t exactly young but he looked the part. And thus the conversation continued deep into the day before all 3 of them collapsed in fatigue on the hard wooden floor of the hut next to the warm fireplace.

* * *

Toon was the first to rise the next day, which was not that unusual since Toon was a young sailor that was used to waking up for night shifts at sea. Toon’s vision flickered into focus despite the looming night above his head. The young Hylian looked out of the window of the hut, the sun was not out on the horizon but the touch of wind on his skin helped him estimate that the sun would peek over in about a few minutes. Stretching himself, Toon let out a long satisfied yawn before rubbing his eyes and sitting up from the hard wooden floor. 

He didn’t know how silent he needed to be so as to not wake both Pit and Shulk, so he gingerly crawled as slowly as he could towards the fireplace. He had more or less come to terms that no matter how hard he tried, his hearing would not come back, but he was determined to live by the words of those who guided him through the Great Sea: Aryll, Grandma, Tetra and the King of Red Lions. He didn’t know why they spoke to him that way during his fight with Rathalos, but he was infinitely grateful that their spirits had encouraged him back when he was in such a bind. 

As Toon made his way towards the kitchen counter, he stopped by Pit’s side and his brow furrowed, child-like features grimacing at the way Pit slept. The angel was sleeping haphazardly over the ground, mouth open with a small line of drool on his cheek, hands thrown across the ground and his feet almost kicked Shulk in the head. However, what made Toon concerned was the way the angel’s wing, specifically Pit’s left wing, was wedged awkwardly under the angel’s weight. The wing was bent in an abnormal angle under the angel and seemed to be getting crushed by Pit’s body, yet the angel continued to sleep on without a care in the world. 

‘Surely that has to be painful.’ Toon thought to himself as he instinctively pulled at the wing that was crushed before he realised his mistake and drew his fingers back hastily. Yet… Pit continued to sleep on, as if nothing had happened, as if he felt nothing. Toon drew in a breath. ‘Calm down Link… he didn’t seem to notice…’ Toon regulated his breathing back before he backed away from Pit, making a mental note to tell Shulk what he had witnessed that dawn when the seer woke up.

Back on track, Toon managed to somehow make it to the kitchen counter where Pit and Shulk had left the fruits from the day before and Toon grinned with a smirk. ‘Pit and Shulk have been doing so much for me ever since we met, and they keep fussing about me. Well just you wait. Little ol’ Link here is the pillager of the seas! I rode with Tetra when I was merely 10, so don’t think of me as a kid.’ Toon chuckled lightly to himself as he grabbed the knife. ‘I will show you two that you don’t have to baby me all the time.’

The knife flew down onto the chopping board, swiftly and precisely as Toon began to chop up the fruits, displaying impressive knife work all the way until the sun peeked over the horizon.

* * *

Second to wake, to Toon’s delight, was Shulk. Toon had finally managed to put all the chopped up fruit into the giant pot and was in the process of throwing as much remaining fruit juice he had squeezed from the remaining fruit in the pile into the pot. The waker of winds felt his skin prick when there was a stir in the air around him and he looked back at where Shulk and Pit had fallen asleep on the floor the night before, a bright smile etched on his face when he saw Shulk stir and wake up. Throwing the peels of the fruits into a dark corner of the hut, Toon hastily washed his hands and ran up to Shulk. 

The seer was in the midst of waking up so when Toon crashed into him, Shulk;s heart nearly came out of his mouth in shock. Toon didn’t seem to catch that though as he hugged Shulk and then proceeded to tug at the visionary’s sleeve, gesturing at the pot he had been working on all morning. Shulk squinted at the pot and then at Toon who gave him a cheeky grin and gestured, ‘Morning, breakfast is fruit salad.’ Toon watched as Shulk’s face contorted into that of concern and Toon proceeded to pout. ‘I can take care of myself.’ Toon signed back and Shulk sighed in defeat. 

Moving over, Shulk helped to inspect Toon’s culinary work as the young Hylian took the opportunity to sign to Shulk what he had witnessed with Pit in the wee hours of the morning. Shulk could not help but fall silent at the revaluation as his inventor’s brain began to conjure up a list of hypotheses, listing what he assumed was wrong with Pit and what Pit had sacrificed to escape Galeem’s clutches. He continued to ponder through the morning. Toon watched as Shulk immersed in his thoughts and giggled at Shulk’s serious look as he continued to prepare the fruit salad for the group. 

Sneakily, Toon gave himself a quick taste of his work and marveled at how good it tasted as he gave himself a mental pat on the back. ‘Well done Link, you outdid yourself.’ He complimented himself with a chuckle much to the confusion of Shulk who was observing the young hero.

* * *

It would not be for another half an hour before Pit woke up. When Pit finally came back to the world from the realm of dreams, Shulk and Toon were already beginning to dig into their breakfast, fresh fruit salad courtesy of Toon. A groan escaped Pit’s lips as he dragged himself off the ground, peeling his crushed wing from the wooden floorboards. “Did you guys start eating without me?” Toon giggled and signed to the light angel with a cheeky grin. ‘You were sleeping so soundly.’ 

Rolling his eyes, Pit took his own bowl that Toon graciously set aside for him and took a seat across Shulk on the floor. They ate for a moment in silence with Pit signing occasionally to Toon, mostly to inquire on Toon’s fruit salad recipe and how he knew how to make it. Toon was glad to explain his island experience with tropical fruits to Pit, a story that greatly intrigued the angel who watched Toon’s hands fly in a flurry of signs to tell his tales. 

It wasn’t long before Toon finished and the young Hylian eyed Shulk, the signal that it was Shulk’s turn to stop stalling. A deep breath.

“Pit.” Shulk began, turquoise eyes curiously eying the light angel who perked up at the seer with his mouth full of fruit salad. “Ya?” Pit asked as he used his right to spoon another spoonful of apple cubes into his mouth. Shulk breathed in deeply before he began the interrogation. “What happened to the left side of your body?” 

Shulk watched as the spoon fell limp in Pit’s right hand and the angel’s body tensed up at the question, but the seer pressed on, determined to get answers from the angel. “Your left arm, wings and eyes, they look almost like dead weight to you. They fall limp to your side and I have seen you barely use them since we met. Toon pulled at your wing while you were asleep this morning to see if he could dislodge it from the it’s uncomfortable position under your weight. He said you didn’t flinch. You can tell us, it's nothing to be ashamed of.” Pit’s right eye was quivering, their blue colour shaking as they looked and thought of a way out of this. Shulk sighed. “Please Pit, you already know the sacrifices Toon and I made.” 

The spoon Pit held fell into his half-eaten bowl with a clatter as the angel looked down at his fruit salad. The silence that followed was tense and almost crawling with dread until Pit decided to speak up once again. “It's Pittoo…” 

“Dark Pit?” Shulk supplied as Pit nodded. “Pittoo and I are mirror images of each other you see. Pittoo was created from the Mirror of Truth so he is connected to me as I am connected to him.” Pit slowly reached for his bandage and began to unwind it. “It's only natural that the sacrifice will try to balance the both of us out, so while Pittoo lost his right side.” The bandage fell to the ground as Pit opened his left eye to Shulk and Toon’s shock.

“I lost my left.”

A sea of red. Shulk could only see a sea of red in Pit’s left eye, a bright crimson colour that burned with ten suns. The colour did not remind him of Pit, it definitely reminded him of Dark Pit. Toon seemed to get the message as the young sailor quickly ran up to Pit to give him a hug, as if to try and comfort him. Pit laughed weakly before thanking Toon with a pat on the head. “I cannot feel my left arm or wing, they are limp and I can’t put any strength in them. This left eye is Pittoo’s and he can see through this eye when I open it and I can see through his right when he opens his eye. You know because it's connected so he has my left eye. But...but...” Pit vaguely tried to explain it with a gesture. 

A hard lump formed in Shulk’s throat, the blue lines on his body were stuttering inconsistently, flickering sadly with a very dark blue glow to reflect the seer’s mood. Shulk bit this lip, blue lines shuddering as he saw the angel shakily grasp his limp left arm with his right. Pit’s body shuddered and heaved as he coughed out. “I can’t fight like this!” He wailed. “I am supposed to be a brave warrior! The captain of Lady Palutena’s guard! Yet look at me!” Pit grabbed his bow and tried to put it in his left hand, only for the hand to weakly grasp around the bow’s middle portion and then drop it almost immediately when Pit attempted to lift the arm up. Toon visibly jumped when the bow nearly hit him from where he had positioned himself to hug Pit. 

“I-I can’t hold my weapons properly, I won’t be able to fight well! I use the Upperdash Arm with my left arm and now I can’t even use it!” Pit’s cries echoed through the whole hut, shaking the wood as the low creaks of the wooden hut began to accompany the angel’s weeping words. “It's pathetic of me… I have been through so many wars and tough battles but this… this is just too much.” Shulk opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Toon picked up the bow that Pit had dropped and shoved it into Pit’s hands. 

Small drops of tears fell onto Toon but the little hero looked firmly at Pit’s tear stained face, courage and confidence written clearly on the young hylian’s face. His own shaky words, full of mistakes in the intonations and stresses filled the hut, but his words were nothing short of determined. “Pit must still fight… You believe that this… is a reason to stop fighting? … To give up?” Toon shook his head and forced Pit’s fingers to grasp tightly around the bow. 

“You still have your weapons… Shulk lost his weapon so he had to make his own… I lost my hearing… I cannot hear you… Shulk… and you still have half your body. Even if you lack- you have us.” As shaky as Toon’s voice was, full of stuttering and weird stresses and pauses, his words rang through to the angel who stared at the Conductor in stunned silence. “Shulk and I are here… we can work together! Together and overcome our weaknesses, that’s why we… are here!” 

It took a while as both Pit and Shulk were stunned by Toon’s sudden outburst, but Shulk didn’t want to let this opportunity blow by as he looked straight at Pit with glimmering turquoise eyes. “This is not a fight we can take on alone. I learnt that the hard way on the Bionis and it’s no different here.” 

The next few moments was filled with a tense silence as Pit’s blue right eye gazed between Toon and Shulk then back at his weapons. A weak laugh broke the silence as Shulk was taken aback by Pit’s reaction. The angel hugged Toon back in response, the bow still held in his palms as he did so. “Thank you… thank you… How could I forget this… Even during the uprising, I wasn’t alone. Lady Palutena, Viridi, Pittoo and even Magnus were there to help me. How could I forget all that?” 

Shulk weakly laughed. “New environments and unfamiliar territory along with this sacrifice deal makes us blind to many things.” Pit couldn’t help but laugh in agreement as Shulk smiled. “At least this proves one of my many hypotheses about your sacrifice.” 

“Hypothesis?” Pit spluttered out with a laugh. “Man you really are a nerd as the rumours said!” Shulk chuckled at the angel’s response as Toon unlatched himself from the angel to help refill the angel’s split bowl of fruit salad. “I never denied that I wasn’t one.” Shulk cheekily replied, earning another hearty laughter from the angel. 

“Fruit salad?” Toon called out as he held another bowl to Pit with a childish grin. Pit graciously accepted the serving as they continued to eat, cracking jokes all through the morning. A much needed laughter from the tension prior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo updating. Yeah I have no other excuse other than university is dumb but hey the quarantine gave me time to continue writing again so yeah! Now there is a giant gap of like 2 months from when I wrote the first half of this chapter and the latter half of the chapter so there may be some inconsistencies. Apologies for that. Anyways, next star of the show!
> 
> Allow me to introduce you to Pit, the Captain of Lady Palutena's Guard and an Angel who never learned how to read. 
> 
> Pit lost half of his senses in the left half of his body. This leaves him with a numbed left arm and wing, which very severely hampers his ability to fight or fly. His left eye is red, and does not actually belong to him but to Dark Pit. To explain it simply, Pit can see what Dark Pit sees when Dark Pit opens his left eye and Dark Pit can see what Pit sees through Pit opens his right eye. Its weird and confusing but basically they swapped half their vision with the other angel. This leads to split vision which disorients both angels, so they both cover it up with a bandage, even if we haven't officially met Dark Pit yet but trust me, Dark Pit covers his right eye!
> 
> In hindsight that sounds weird and confusing so feel free to scream your questions at me if you are confused.


	8. A Basic Guide to Teamwork by a Seer and a Sailor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Foul Language up ahead. By that I mean something someone somewhere drops an F bomb. I know I tagged this work as Minor Swearing but this is the last warning for those people who might feel irked by swearing. Little but you know, just in case.
> 
> This is a little bit longer than other chapters because there is quite some action in this one. But hey its faster because I wanted to get across this group's current dynamic. 
> 
> **Also, special thanks to Ryssbelle who is doing a fancomic based on this story. You can read it here: https://sltd-comic.tumblr.com**  
As well as Rys' tumblr here: https://ryssbelle.tumblr.com
> 
> Next chapter is a Toon Link focused chapter tackling some heavy stuff, so take this as a warning in advance.

### Chapter 8: A Basic Guide to Teamwork by a Seer and a Conductor

“What’s the next step to defeating Galeem?” Shulk asked, directing the question at the only other person who was capable of auditory questions. The angel in question furrowed his brow as he pondered on the thought before snapping his fingers together. “I remember meeting Simon on the way here and he told me that Galeem has barriers that surround them so we need to find a way to get rid of those barriers. There are a total of three barriers protecting Galeem when Simon was with me. Though…” 

“Just two days ago, I saw that one layer of the barriers got destroyed somehow.” Pit mused to himself as Shulk narrowed his eyes at the angel. “What time did it happen?” Pit shot a weird look at Shulk for a moment before shrugging, “It was around lunch time so about noon. I heard something like glass shattering from the skies and when I looked up, the barrier’s first layer had disappeared. Why do you ask?” 

Shulk pondered on it for a moment as he calculated a few equations in his head before he snapped his fingers together and shifted his gaze to Toon. The young Hylian had a stone pestle and mortar, that the sailor had dug up from the depths of the hut, and was grinding some ether crystals that Shulk had provided him with into a powder. Feeling the gaze run up his sensitive skin, Toon looked up at Shulk with wide eyes, tilting his head to the side in response as the young sailor’s arms continued to grind down the crystals. Shulk was concerned that Toon was grinding the crystals without looking, seeing that the crystals were producing a few sharp shards but signed to him anyways, ‘What time did we defeat Rathalos?’ 

Toon’s face was painted with a thoughtful look before taking one hand off the mortar to sign, ‘Noon. Winds were warm and stale when we fought Rathalos. Sun was pointing towards the West by then. Late noon.’ Trust a sailor to know time like the back of his hand, it was a necessary skill in the realm of adventuring across the ocean. Shulk nodded and turned back to Pit as he allowed Toon to continue grinding down the crystals. “Seems like everything lines up.” 

“What does?” Pit perked up from his chopping board where he was preparing some freshly hunted cuccos, removing their feathers and being careful since he could butcher it with one working hand. “The timing.” Shulk supplied as he helped Toon take over the grinding of the crystals to allow the Hylian to prepare the fire. “Toon and I defeated Rathalos around noon two days ago and you said that the barrier broke at around the same time we fought Rathalos and won.” Pit’s face twitched with confusion for a moment before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. “Which means,” Pit exclaimed, “that by defeating Rathalos, you guys took down one layer of Galeem’s barrier!”

“Exactly.” Shulk smirked as he transferred the powdered ether crystals into a glass bottle Toon had provided him. The fire was set and Toon had taken the mushrooms from Pit to throw into a frying pan above the heat, making sure to roast them well on the hot pan as the rich aroma of wild mushrooms filled the air. Toon giggled when he saw the line of drool coming from Pit’s mouth, which the angel hastily wiped away. As Toon took charge of the cooking for the moment, Pit turned to help Shulk portion out the ether powder. 

“Do you think there will be other bosses like Rathalos that are linked to Galeem’s barrier?” The query raised by Pit got Shulk thinking for a moment before responding with the affirmative. “I suspect that if there are two more barriers left, then there must be two more bosses that we need to defeat in order to break that barrier and fight Galeem head on.” 

Pit paused for a moment as he looked at the bottles that they had finally managed to sort out, each sparkling with a different colour corresponding to the ether crystal types that were grounded down. He watched the light dance upon the sparkling and glittering powder held within those clear glass vessels and took in a deep breath before looking at Shulk. “Hey...” the light angel began. “Let me join you! I need to find him!”

Shulk looked at Pit in slight surprise, blue lines flashing slightly as he narrowed his eyes at Pit. “Find who?” Pit looked flustered as he jabbed at Shulk’s side. “Pittoo of course! I told you just now that Pittoo and I are connected, it would be easier for the both of us to settle this weird mirrored deal we have, if we are closer to each other.” Shulk opened and closed his mouth slowly as he processed Pit’s words. “I have been thinking about how you and Dark Pit managed to even figure out this whole mirrored image deal when you literally haven’t found him yet.” 

Pit pouted as he gave the butchered cucco to Toon who was frying off the mushrooms with some herbs that Pit had picked out for them. “I have been using water surfaces to talk with Pittoo. If we cover our original eye and look at a mirror-like surface, it would be like talking to each other. By that I mean we have to lip read…. A lot.” Shulk couldn't help but laugh a little, to think that it was ironic that lip reading had become a constant in this adventure of theirs. 

‘Pan fried cucco and mushrooms.’ Toon announced as the fragrant smell of mushrooms and meat filled the hut. Pit could not hold back his drool and Shulk mentally admitted to himself that he was trying his hardest not to drool. Sitting in a circle on the floor, Pit looked at Shulk expectantly awaiting his answer to the previous question. Shulk raised an eye at Toon, and the young Hylian gave the affirmative as Shulk nodded in response. The following whoop of excitement from Pit was more than enough to express his gratitude towards the two. 

“We will depart from here tomorrow.” Shulk suggested as he spooned another mouthful of cucco into his mouth, tasting the gritty ether powder on his food which made his face sour. “We can spend the rest of the day hunting and preparing for a long journey since we have no idea when we will find a proper place to rest like this.” Pit seemed to agree as the angel gave Shulk a thumbs up. Toon seemed satisfied as the young Hylian hastily gestured at his bow with his chest puffed up in pride, which looked adorable to both the seer and the angel as they laughed at Toon’s attempt to look big and brave despite his puny size. The following food fight that ensued was nothing short of eventful for the group.

* * *

“Are you crazy?! You can’t just hit him randomly! It's almost as if he is the mist when you try attacking him!”

What are we fighting? Who is that… Mist? 

“Oh of fucking course this has to happen. Good fucking job Pit-stain, you jinxed it yet again.”

Are you talking to Pit? 

“This place is crazy! It’s almost like we walked into a distorted toy room!” 

Toy room? Where… distortions… Pit?

“Grrrrr….” 

It's those growls again… they still sound so pained…

“Hey stop! Control yourself! Open your fucking eyes! It’s us!”

Someone lost… control? What are you talking about…

‘I am sorry… my blood… I am… so sorry…’

Why are you sorry? What did you do wrong?

“He was never here, not anymore. You should rejoice. For you are now in my divine presence.” 

What a pompous… arrogant attitude…

“I offer you opportunities beyond this world! And you still dare to defy me? So be it.”

Who are you?

“Then you all shall perish.” 

No… no please! Don’t kill them! Please! Don’t kill them, I beg of you! STOP!

“Shulk?” 

No...No… No...

“Shulk? Shulk!”

_Please! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! STOP!_

**“SHULK!”**

* * *

The sun had barely peaked over the horizon when Shulk began to writhe and start mumbling in his sleep. It started out weak and very sporadic before it turned into a full on seizure. The lines on the visionary’s skin began to stutter, glitch, buffer and even went a dead black colour with every seizure and movement in his sleep. His whimpers grew louder and louder as time went on, evolving into full on shouting. “Please! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! STOP!” Shulk screamed in his sleep-filled delusion. Toon, the first one awake, was obviously very distraught by this. It was not the first time Shulk had such a seizure. 

‘It’s the same thing before we fought Rathalos.’ Toon began to shake Shulk in an attempt to wake up the seer, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t knock Shulk out of his nightmare-riddled visions. With no other choice, Toon ran over to Pit, shaking the angel violently to get Pit to wake up, eventually resorting to lightly kicking the angel awake. The groggy angel was obviously confused and disoriented when he first opened his eyes, but upon witnessing Shulk’s condition, all of his weariness washed away instantly. 

Together, the two tried to wake the seer, with Pit shouting Shulk’s name and Toon ghosting a hand over Shulk’s forehead trying to measure the visionary’s temperature. It went on for about 5 minutes before the two resorted to a more active solution. Pit signed for Toon to prepare some ether water which the waker of winds happily obliged, grabbing a bottle from the kitchen counter and adding water into the bottle. Toon made a weird noise before throwing the bottle to Pit who caught it skillfully with his right hand and immediately forced the contents down Shulk’s throat. 

Both of them held their breath as Shulk’s body began to relax as the ether was absorbed into his body, the lines on his skin began to take on a more rhythmic glow pattern, with no more dead black sections. The pale blue light began to illuminate the wooden hut as Shulk’s turquoise eyes fluttered open, weay, unfocused and confused. “Where?” Was all he could say before Pit and Toon jumped onto him, knocking the breath out of Shulk in that instance. 

“You scared us!” Pit cried out as he held Shulk’s shoulders and looked over Shulk’s body, making sure the lines on his skin were the right hue of blue. “You were not waking up and you sent Toon into a mini panic attack!” True enough to Pit’s words, fat tears rolled down Toon’s face as the tiny hero started to weakly hit Shulk’s chest with his tiny fists, wailing in a constant fluctuation of tone and volume. Shulk could not remember for the life of him what happened… all he could remember was something golden in his vision and that was it. Shaking his head, the seer, gave Pit and Toon a hug. “I am sorry for worrying you… I am fine now.” 

Pit was not convinced but he decided to let it slide since chasing it would only make him feel really bad, and he was not going to make Toon go through that panic again. “It’s fine.” Pit opted to say. “Let’s just get ready and leave.” To which he received a unanimous agreement from the other two present. 

It didn’t take long for the three to gather their possessions and all the food they had hunted and stuffed them into Shulk’s dimensional storage bag and Pit’s pocket dimension satchel. It was relieving to have two forms of ‘unlimited’ inventory space at hand, it allowed the group to prepare a lot of food in advance, which is favoured since they had all agreed that covering more ground was their main priority. 

Standing outside of the hut, Shulk and Toon allowed Pit to say goodbye to the place where the angel had called home for the short time they had stayed there. “Thank you!” Pit called out to the empty hut, waving his entire right arm at the hut before he turned to the other two with his eyes glossy from slight tears. “Lets go.” 

With a nod, the group left the hut behind hidden in the thicket of the forest.

* * *

“Which direction should we head to?” Pit piped up as the group finally burst out of the thick shrubbery onto the main road. The group had yet to figure out where the other bosses could be, and Shulk chided himself mentally for not thinking things through, this wasn’t like him at all. Turquoise eyes shifted between a single blue eye to a pair of wide eyes before turning to the sky. A deep breath filled his lungs, cool and relieving from the smell of a river not too far away from where the main road was from. “I don’t know.” Shulk finally admitted after a long silence from the seer.

Pit grumbled softly to himself before he looked at the main road and turned left to right and snapped his fingers together. “Why don't we just head for that icy mountain there?” The angel proposed, gesturing with his right hand at the imposingly tall mountain, peaks covered in thick layers of snow and ice. “We can use that height to see the world and figure out where to go!” Pit supplied with a cheeky grin. Shulk narrowed his eyes at the mountain and sighed, “I guess we could do that. What do you think, Toon?” Shulk paused when he saw that the small Hylian was staring at the mountain with a very sharp squint. The young hylian bit his lips and kept his gaze at the mountain for a moment before he felt someone staring at him. Looking up, Toon’s eyes met with Shulk’s turquoise eyes and immediately had his face melt into a more mellow and cheerful look, gesturing a thumbs up to the seer.

Shulk was concerned about Toon’s expression but he discerned that Toon was probably trying to squint to see the mountain like he did. He didn’t chase it beyond that, especially since Pit was the next to chime in. “Then it’s settled! Let's head towards that icy mountain!” He cried out, pointing at the mountain while striking a confident pose. A giggle left Toon’s lips and Shulk held back a groan as he signed for Toon to follow them as Pit led the charge forward, a wide goofy grin spread across the light angel’s face. 

A rustle from the shrubs next to the main road stopped Shulk in his tracks as he immediately reached behind him and drew out Replica. The blade’s red metal frames separated and a bright blue beam burst out between the metallic sections of the blade, forming a blade made of pure blue energy. Blue sparks flew across the metallic surface, glimmering as it was reflected in Shulk’s left eye that began to flicker between different colours and different monado art letters. Toon jumped back on instinct from Shulk’s sudden battle stance but soon caught the drift and drew his own weapons, holding his shield in one and his master sword in the other. 

Pit, however, was slow and looked at the two in utmost confusion. “What are you guys doing?” Pit called out as he made his way to the two who were trailing behind him. Before he took another step, the bush rustled once more and Shulk drew in a breath before shouting, “Get down!” He called out to Pit before grabbed Toon’s hand and made the young hylian duck with him. Pit heeded Shulk’s warning and ducked. 

With a high pitched roar, six Incineroar puppets crashed out of the bushes, trying to claw at the group with their fire coated claws and fangs, only for them to miss completely and tumble into the ground. Each puppet had glowing crimson eyes, with a red glow that pierced the souls of the group. Dark and almost lifeless with only one goal in mind, ‘capture and kill’. It was obvious, their intentions were that of Galeem, to get rid of the heroes in order to make this world a true utopia for the lord of light. 

The puppets slowly gathered themselves as Shulk and Toon immediately split up, each aiming to take down two puppets each. Pit soon followed after, being a little bit late on the uptake from prior as he grabbed his Palutena Bow in his right and began to swing it around in front of him. The small incineroar puppets screeched with a high pitch growl before lunging at Toon as the small hero swung his master sword in front of him in three straight jabs, sending the small puppet aside before jumping towards the small puppet and aiming to stab iit in the chest only for the small puppet to roll away just as Toon landed on the ground. With his sword stuck in the ground, Toon scowled and pulled out his bow, aiming and shooting it at the agile and nimble incineroar puppet, missing shot after shot. 

Pit fended off one puppet of his own before he backed up towards Toon and Shulk to keep the group together. As Pit slowly retreated back to the other two, his singular blue eye caught sight of Toon being snuck up on by another incineroar puppet. “Toon! Behind you!” Pit called out trying to warn the young Hylian, belatedly remembering that Toon could not hear him. The Incineroar puppet lunged at Toon’s back, fangs and claws bared until a red hilt of a sword slammed into its side, sending it flying and crashing into the dirt. A blue aura surrounded Shulk’s feet as he quickly jumped aside to avoid another grab from one of the puppets he was facing, which was easy given his increased mobility with Speed Art. The puppet that Shulk flung aside soon crumbled into dust and light, Shulk acknowledging its defeat before he turned to Pit, his left eye bright blue with the kanji for speed glowing in it. 

“Toon can’t hear you! You will have to cover his blind spot for him! That's what it means to be- “ Shulk pushed aside another puppet and backflipped to land on his feet as he held his blade in front of him. “-a team!” He finished as his blade immediately flashed purple and his left eye twisted itself into a pale purple to reflect his art switch, the character for Buster appearing in his eye. The lines on Shulk’s body glowed slowly, shifting into a similar purple colour as Shulk swung his sword out. With a cry, Shulk leaped at his two puppets, slicing his puppets as they fell back and caught their footing. Shulk grabbed Toon Link by the collar and threw Toon Link into the air, the young Hylian was surprised but let it happen as Shulk then swung the blade of replica around him on the ground in a few circles, sending the puppets back, defeating Toon’s remaining puppet for the young hero. 

The move concluded and Shulk visibly flinched, his legs were getting weak and they could barely support him now. Pit, wings puffed up and flustered, caught up with the two, putting his back to them as they faced the remaining four puppets in a circle. “These guys are tough for being so small.” Pit commented as he swung his bow’s blade outwards, slicing the chest of one of the puppets as it flew back but caught itself once more, rolling in to continue their advance. A scowl littered Pit’s face as he turned to Shulk. “Hey Shulk! They are comin-” He couldn’t finish his sentence as Shulk collapsed onto his knees, thick beads of sweat covering his forehead and face, hands releasing the hilt of Replica in favour of grasping at his chest. His breaths heavy and laboured, shallow almost as the visionary panted hard. His body was shaking hard, shivering violently as his eyes closed in a tight squeeze, gasping for air to fill his crushed lungs. 

“Sh-Shulk!” Pit cried out as he turned to try and console the pained visionary. “What is wrong? Speak to me.” Through clenched teeth, Shulk looked up at Pit, turquoise eyes brimming with pain and dizziness before he coughed out. “Heartburn… look out… don’t… mind me. Look out...” 

An incineroar puppet leaped at Pit’s open back and the angel himself was too slow to react if it wasn’t for a boomerang that whizzed past Pit’s eye and slammed the puppet in the gut, sending the puppet into the air where it exploded into dust and light particles. Toon notched another arrow into his bow and his eyes narrowed at Pit. Toon looked at Shulk and shook his head, gesturing for Pit to back him up and Pit bit his lip. His code of conduct was to not leave anything or anyone behind no matter how hurt, but Toon seemed prepared for a situation like this and he had to follow. It was painful having to follow the kid’s decision but he could not label Toon as an ordinary kid, the sailor was a hero in his own right after all. 

Tearing his eyes away from Shulk for a moment, Pit gripped his bow tightly with his right hand and yelled out at the remaining two puppets as he and Toon managed to spear and shoot both of the remaining puppets right in the chest before the puppets stopped, their crimson eyes slowly fading to black before they exploded, much like the others, into dust. A small orb formed from the dust and ashes of the puppet, collecting itself before it disappeared into Pit’s satchel. Pit landed on the ground with a light thump before he hurried back to Toon and Shulk, he decided to deal with the orb later. 

The visionary was crumpled on the floor, breathing heavily as Toon shuffled through his bags and was trying to make Shulk to take a swig of the ether water they prepared beforehand. Shulk was reluctant of course, weakly waving off Toon while saying it would pass soon when Pit came up. Pit bit his lip and grabbed the bottle from Toon and forced it into Shulk’s lips where he made Shulk drink the whole vial’s worth. Shulk took a deep breath as he relaxed on the ground, allowing his body to be rejuvenated by the ether and soon released his hand’s grip over his chest. 

Pit held out a hand to Shulk as he slowly moved Shulk into a sitting position on the uneven gravel road they were following before collapsing onto the road himself. Toon was massaging Shulk’s back, moving his tiny fingers in circles along Shulk’s back as the seer finally regained some semblance of thought. Shulk looked at Pit who immediately looked away in shame, hiding his one blue right eye with his hand. Shulk sighed and gestured to Toon, who immediately nodded and proceeded to massage Pit instead. The angel was surprised at the sudden touch but his tense muscles soon relaxed as Toon worked along his back, running his fingers in circles at the base of his one good wing. 

“I am sorry.” Pit finally croaked out. “I didn’t factor in that you guys would be that... “ Pit could not finish the sentence as he bit his lips to stop himself. Shulk shook his head, a warm smile still on his face as he found the strength within him to finally pick himself up from the ground and walk over to Pit. “It’s alright Pit. This was our first battle together, miscommunications and small mistakes like that are bound to happen. You don’t have to beat yourself over it.” Shulk forgave the angel as Pit looked up at the seer. 

Their eyes met and Pit felt a warm feeling bubble inside him as Shulk continued with a laugh, “To be honest, even Toon and I had problems fixing that when we first fought Rathalos and even now we are still doing things on the fly. You just have to understand that Toon’s sight and touch is more superior now, so if you can factor that to help him, then you will be on the way there to great teamwork.” Pit stifled a laugh as he finally gathered the strength to stand up and face Shulk, thanking Toon for the massage with a gesture. The sailor looked satisfied as he went to collect his Master Sword from the ground. 

“I am guessing that heartburn you had was because of your arts, I should have remembered from when Toon was telling me the tale of Rathalos.” Pit chuckled weakly before he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry Shulk… Toon.” Shulk shook his head, “It's alright Pit. We are all learning. It is not your fault. Good Bionis, it could also be my fault for not warning you beforehand.” Pit took the opportunity to laugh, “That does not sound like you at all.” 

Shulk huffed as Toon finally gathered his belongings and tugged at both Shulk’s sleeve and Pit’s chiton, gesturing for them to keep going. With a nod, the group ventured forward a bit more.

* * *

“So what do you think this is? An orb?” Pit inquired as he held out the orb he just obtained from the fight with the puppet incineroars. The orb was glowing a iridescent hue of red and white overlapped with each other, as it surrounded a silhouette of a Red Pikmin inside the glassy surface. “It has the image of a Red Pikmin inside it, you know, like the one that Olimar drags around!” Pit gave the orb to Toon who was curious about the orb, and holding it fascinated the little sailor as he admired its beauty. 

“I have a similar one, a Lapras, but I used it to cross the water. A spectral Lapras formed itself before me to let me ride to the southern island where the portal to Toon and Rathalos was.” Shulk explained as he pulled out his own Lapras orb. Pit took the orb carefully from Shulk in one hand and inspected it. “So these orbs have the souls or spirits that were trapped inside the puppets?” Pit raised his brow at Shulk who nodded. “It seems so.” 

“That's really neat. So that means if we fight and win against the puppets, we can release their spirits. We should free as many as we can when we run into them. Of course we have to practice caution and not jump into battle carelessly.” Pit concluded as he handed the Lapras orb to Toon in exchange for the Red Pikmin one. Storing the Red Pikmin Spirit Orb into his satchel, Pit looked at Shulk who agreed with his statement with a nod. Toon took a moment to marvel at the Lapras orb before returning it to Shulk who then placed it back into his own bag. 

With their thoughts collected, the group trekked onwards towards the mountain. It didn’t take much for their peace and quiet to be interrupted by the resounding footsteps coming their way as the winds shifted, pricking the sensitive skin. This time, all three in sync as they drew their weapons, Replica’s beam blade shot out of its metallic hilt, arrows nocked and Master Sword in drawing distance, Palutena Bow angled in front. Breathings slowed to a calm rhythm, backs to each other and their senses heightened as they began to look from left to right, surveying their surroundings with utmost caution. 

“Left!” Toon cried out, his intonation sharp and oddly pitched but the message was heard and the group immediately jumped towards the left as a giant pink sphere hurled itself at the group, barely missing them as they rolled out of the way. “What was that?” Shulk called out as he swung his blade out, eyes flashing as he contemplated which art to choose. “Sukapon!” Pit cried out in response as he readied his bow by pointing its sharpened edge out at the direction from which Sukapon came. “Seems like even the assist trophies are under Galeem’s control. Be careful.” Pit warned as he signed a quick ‘be careful’ to Toon who nodded and picked up his boomerang in preparation. Shulk swung his blade out, holding it in front of him in a defensive position, reminding himself over and over again not to be too hasty with his arts. 

“Enemies incoming!” Toon cried out once more with the same shakiness in his volume as a cloud of dust encroached upon the group. In the middle of the dust cloud, Toon was able to pick out two incoming figures. A Sonic puppet with glowing red eyes, vermillion colours oozing from its cold eyes as it honed in on the heroes before them. Beside the spirit was the rest of Sukapon’s body, catching up to its other part that was shot at the group prior. The body part that was shot soon retracted backwards towards Sukapon and made the pink robot whole again. Yet the two enemies showed no sign of stopping as they came barreling down the road towards the group. 

“These enemies are fast, what should we do, Shulk?” Pit called out to Shulk who spluttered to reply. “What? Why are you asking me?” Pit chuckled weakly as he held his bow out in a defensive position as well. “Because you are the smartest among us three.” Shulk was simultaneously confused and relieved that Pit had this much confidence in him when he was literally writhing on the ground in agony just a few moments ago, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. 

“Defensive positions to stop them in their tracks when they come close, drag them into a slower paced battle.” Shulk ordered as he provided the translations in sign to Toon who acknowledged it by bringing up his shield in front of him. “Here they come!” Pit cried out.

The Sonic puppet and Sukapon crashed into their defensive stances, their fists and bodies pressed hard onto the shield, bow and blade before being blown back when all three heroes pushed them away. Toon placed his shield behind his back, with a swift motion drew his bow back, nocked an arrow and let it fly, trailing beside Shulk and Pit who rushed at the enemies with their own battle cries. 

The arrow barely missed Sukapon but distracted the robot long enough for Pit to slice his blade across the robot’s soft pink body. Pit’s blade sunk into the robot’s soft outer coating, leaving a scar in that bubbly layer. Pit followed it up by spinning his bow skillfully with only his right hand trying to get more hits onto Sukapon that he failed to realise that the robot had separated part of its body. The bright pink body readied up, winding itself back before launching its entire weight towards Pit’s blinded left side.The sound of whirring air beside him caught Pit off guard as he whipped his head just a few moments before Sukapon’s body collided with his - only for nothing to happen. The whistling sound of a boomerang flung through the air, striking Sukapon’s body away from its intended course. 

Without a moment to spare, Pit slammed his own weight into Sukapon’s remaining robotic frame, the small pink robot hurtling and crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust. Pit wiped his forehead with the bow in his right as he gave a thumbs up to Toon, who wore a very satisfied grin on his childish face. Pit headed after Sukapon’s body but was interrupted by the sound of the visionary calling out his art. “Jump!” The cries of the visionary echoed throughout the entire forest as a vibrant green aura surrounded his legs, the bright blue lines on the visionary’s body fading into a fluorescent green and his left eye reflecting the character for ‘Jump’. Shulk breathed in and took to the skies, landing on the branches of the trees surrounding them as he leaped from branch to branch, baiting the Sonic puppet into using a homing attack on him. The puppet did not show any visible frustration, but if it were left to Pit, he would be absolutely frustrated at being unable to hit the agile and nimble seer.

‘Seems like slowing them down did not go according to plan.’ Pit grumbled mentally before he shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. No time for hesitation, Pit chased after Shulk’s fleeing figure through the woods, this time, gesturing to Toon to follow as the small hylian stored his bow and boomerang in favour of his shield and sword as he ran after the angel. Deeper and deeper they chased Shulk into the woods, hot on the tail of the Sonic puppet for a few seconds when Pit noticed the green aura around Shulk’s legs were starting to wear off. The message was clear enough, in a fluid motion, Pit separated his bow into two parts using his mouth and flung one of the two halves at the Sonic puppet right as it missed Shulk once more. 

The golden blade shot through the air, stabbing itself into the Sonic Puppet’s back and flinging the puppet off targeting Shulk. The momentum of the thrown blade was more than enough to stick the puppet to the tree. The puppet didn’t seem to be in pain, neither did it cry out in pain at all, instead it struggled to dislodge itself from the tree despite the gaping hole in its chest where light particles began to seep out. Pit caught his breath and raced towards the puppet, the remaining half blade still held between his teeth as he rushed forward.

“Buster!” Shulk cried out from the trees as he jumped down from his vantage point in the canopies, swinging his blade forward and stabbing the purple energy blade into the puppet’s back. A soundless scream as the puppet flailed against Shulk’s blade stabbing it through the chest, fists tossed around in a crazed frenzy, some grazing Shulk’s cheek leaving small bruises in its wake as the visionary visibly flinched with each punch that flew in his direction. The fighting spirit in the puppet was strong, alight with an inferno despite the disadvantageous situation it was forced into. Shulk’s one turquoise and other purple eye reflected with the character for ‘Buster’ as the fire of the fight burned bright in the magenta hues of Shulk’s left eye. With a swift flick of his sword, the blade beam cut cleanly through the side of the puppet in a spray of mixed blue and white light. 

The light particles exploded from the puppet’s body, dancing beautifully against the purple lines that adorned Shulk’s skin, the hues mingling together like a golden painting before fading away. The corpse was left to crumble into dust as Shulk began to fall, clutching at his chest. He couldn’t breathe properly and his legs were numb. He couldn’t feel anything, not a hint of strength in his legs and his chest wanted to crush inwards on him. It hurt to breathe, his lungs were being held in a tight fist between his ribs as he gasped for air that could not fill his pained lungs. It hurt, it hurt so much. Shulk stifled a cry as he could feel his body succumb to gravity.

Falling… falling… 

“I got you!” Came the muffled, relieving cry of the angel who leaped out, flapping his one good wing strongly to propel him forward and catch Shulk with a strong right arm before the seer hit the ground hard. The two crashed into a pile under the tree and Shulk choked and gasped for breath, clutching at his chest with his eyes squeezed shut. Pit immediately set Shulk to lean against the tree and spun around to catch the bottle of ether potion that Toon had thrown to them, the small Hylian still trying to play catch up with the two. Pit grabbed the bottle and his gaze shifted to the incoming shadow behind Toon, the shadow began to catch up to Toon, its imposing shadow growing over Toon’s tiny stature. Pit felt the bile rise up in his throat, his panic stabbing at his chest and his despair slowly flooding his senses. 

He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout, he wanted to warn Toon of the encroaching enemy behind him, but his mind stopped him. Toon would not hear him and Toon would not be able to read his lips fast enough. Pit was not as proficient as Shulk in his sign language yet and that would be far too slow to warn Toon. His mind was in a whir, conflicted at what to do, unable to form a cohesive thought in the moment, his tongue thick in his mouth until it grazed upon the rough surface of the weapon he held in his mouth. No time to hesitate. In the split second, Pit took the remaining half of his Palutena bow from his mouth and put all his remaining strength into his right arm. ‘Reach him!’ Pit prayed and begged as he flung the bow towards Toon. 

The bow blade shot through the air, slicing through any resistance that physics might put up against it, as it whizzed through the air like a blazing golden bullet. Golden edges glimmering as it approached Toon straight on, the young Hylain was inclined to dodge the sudden ‘attack’ that Pit had thrown at him, but the young sailor’s spatial calculations were not to be doubted. A whirl of numbers and math diagrams in his head and Toon had it all sorted. The young hero of winds took a strong step forward allowing the bow blade to graze past his ear. He didn’t hear anything but he could feel the rush of cold air the blade produced against his skin, cold and sharp. He didn’t blink nor did he flinch as he reached into his weapons bag on instinct. 

The blade flew past Toon and embedded itself into the head of Sukapon, causing the robot to stumble back, smoke and electricity starting to billow and spark out of the pink robot’s soft body. Toon used the momentum to turn himself around, a bomb lit in one hand as he flung the explosive at the robot before ducking into a roll out of the way. The bomb’s fuse fizzled and alight with a spark as it came straight into Sukapon’s body and exploded in a giant flash of smoke and light, the sound of its explosion rumbled the forest, causing the leaves to rustle from the force. The smell of gunpowder thick in the air as the remnants of Sukapon’s body, nothing more than a few dust and light particles fell upon the crouched hylian hero like glorified confetti to celebrate their victory. With a clatter, the bow blade half that Pit had thrown fell to the ground, slightly singed black on the edges by the explosion but still retained its shine. 

The light that was released from Sukapon and the puppet gathered together, danced in the area and collected itself, compressing and glowing before a glassy orb fell from the skies and into Toon’s lap. A mixture of grey and dark purple spinning, overlapping and blending into each other behind the silhouette of Rayman. The spirit of rayman now settled nicely in the spirit orb. Toon marvelled at it for a moment, his eyes wide with the sort of curious childlike inquisitivity before he chuckled and pocketed it. Pulling himself off the ground, Toon ran towards Pit and Shulk, collecting Pit’s bow blade along the way as he finally managed to catch up to the other two in his team. 

Toon arrived on the scene just as Pit had finally wrestled the contents of another ether vial down Shulk’s stubborn throat and the seer was left dazed under the tree, eyes blinking slowly as he gave a weak smile and wave to Toon. Ruffling the sailor’s bright yellow hair, Pit took the half bow blade from Toon with a wide grin before fixing it to the other half, reforming the full glory of his Palutena Bow once more and setting it aside to tend to Shulk’s injuries. There were light bruises on Shulk’s face from when he was struggling with the Sonic puppet but other than that and his ether depletion condition, there was not much to worry about. 

Toon and Pit worked together to patch up the delusioned seer slowly, applying cold water using their water skins and some rags that Pit had by rubbing Shulk’s bruises, cleaning them up and making sure that Shulk was as comfortable as possible. It worried Toon more that Shulk was getting a lot worse in terms of ether depletion, and the young sailor concluded that Shulk just needed even more ether than they expected to survive through a simple battle. After a bit of fawning over the visionary, Shulk’s mind began to rush back into his body as the seer shook his head slowly, feeling his tongue thick in his mouth before smiling at Pit and Toon. 

“Thanks guys.” Shulk thanked the other two as Toon puffed his chest up in pride and Pit wiped the sweat off his forehead, pushing his damp bangs from his face as he smiled at Shulk. Shulk gave Pit a smile as he nodded slowly. “You did it Pit… That was simply splendid teamwork back there.” Pit’s face flushed pink as the angel shook his head, waving his right arm in a flustered gesture. “No no! It was all because you guys told me what to do before.” 

“We all… did Work!” Toon supplemented with his scratchy voice that fluctuated in volume, as he grabbed both Shulk and Pit’s hand and raised them to the sky in victory, causing the other two to burst into hearty laughter. The group relished in their new found victory and cooperation when something stirred in the air. At first Shulk and Toon simultaneously panicked, thinking it might be another attack. They were not prepared for another ambush, not when Shulk was still trying to regain strength in his legs. The only one who kept calm was Pit, who soon hushed the other two down, calming them with a hush and soft gestures. 

“It's alright! I recognize this feeling. It seems like we are in luck.” Pit giggled with ecstasy as he waved an excited right hand at the skies. Curious as to Pit’s sudden swing in mood, both Toon and Shulk complied as they shifted their gaze towards the sky. High in the sky was Galeem’s looming presence, the bright sphere of light known as the Lord of Light flashed and seemed to stutter a little bit, iridescent wings twitching until…

CRASH!

Another barrier around the Lord of Light shattered, leaving falling glass-like pieces falling from the sky like a bright rain of gemstones raining down on the earth below. There remained around Galeem was the final barrier, red like the eyes of the puppets that the group had been facing up until now. The final barrier before the path to Galeem would be opened up to the heroes from across the multiverses to defeat the Lord of Light. Only one remained, but Bionis knows who will be the one to shatter that last barrier. Only time could tell as Shulk, Toon and Pit picked themselves up from the ground, hurrying their pace towards the snowy mountain.


	9. To Climb, Sink and Fly into the Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is a very graphic portion of this chapter that tackles delusional hypothermia. It's mildly graphic so please proceed with caution. If you are squeamish and do not want to read that section, I have put up a warning right before the section and at the end of the graphic section which you can skip to. Just look out for the bolded 'Warning Start' and 'Warning End'.

### Chapter 9: To Climb, Sink and Fly into the Cold

The icy mountain was within reach now, only a few more forks in the road and they would reach the base of the mountain they had aimed to climb since they left Pit’s Humble Hut for Weary Travellers. Pit picked up the small glassy orb that fell to the ground from their last encounter, inspecting its surface and marvelling at the spirit of Rover before he quickly returned his attention to Toon who was providing Shulk with more ether potions. The visionary’s skin was alight with blue lines that were slowly glowing brighter in a rhythmic pulse as he absorbed the ether into his deprived body, rejuvenating the seer. 

Wiping his mouth dry of the remaining ether potion, Shulk looked up at Pit who was tossing the orb up and down with his right hand with a cheeky grin. “That makes 14 so far.” Pit chuckled as he stored the Rover spirit orb into his satchel and kneeled down to Shulk’s eye level. “You doing okay Monado boy?” Pit teased as Shulk waved him off. “I will be fine. Thanks to the support from both you and Toon, I only needed to use Speed art this time, so it will just be a bit and my legs will be back to normal.” 

Pit nodded as he stood up with a stretch, he allowed his usable wing to stretch out, puffing up with a shower of feathers that fell slowly to the ground. The shed feathers were soft and downy, light to the touch, something that Toon had taken a liking to, collecting the lot to make pillows for the journey. Gathering the fallen feathers into a small sack, Toon smirked at the large volume of feathers and quickly dumped it into Shulk’s dimensional storage bag, since Shulk was alright with Toon sharing that storage space with him. Shulk let out a sudden choked cough, catching the attention of the angel who was admiring the imposing height of the icy mountain destination. “We talk about climbing that mountain but…” Shulk raised an eye at Pit, “do you have any idea how to climb that mountain?” 

A dead silence followed.

“You didn’t think it through did you?” Shulk began only to be interrupted by the flustered angel. “We-Well... I thought that you would have come up with a good idea the moment that we reached the base of the mountain! You know!” Pit flailed his right arm in crazed gestures, confusing Toon who was having trouble catching up on the conversation. “You are the scientist! So you are smarter and thus know what to do in these situations!” Shulk stared at Pit, dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open in pure shock at how reckless this angel was. “Sure, I know how to climb **A** mountain because I did it back home on the Bionis but Valak Mountain is different from that sort of mountain!” 

Pit let his face fall into his right palms, groans escaping from his lips in a muffled cry. “We are so screwed. Why did we waste all that effort to come here?” It was around this point that Toon stopped trying to understand the argument between the angel and the seer. Scowling at his helplessness, Toon moved around their rest stop to gather their weapons and items. First his boomerang and Hero’s Bow into his own inventory and finally re-counting all his arrows and bombs. He still had more than enough for a few more battles, but he made a mental note to restock as soon as he could. How? Toon shrugged, deciding to cross that bridge whenever it decides to come. 

As Toon’s dainty fingers brushed against the smooth surface of the glass bottles on the ground, the shift in the breeze around him made the sailor’s body tense up, his muscles frozen in place as he immediately turned his head towards the bushes next to him. He could not hear it, but he could feel the rustling of the bushes on his sensitive skin. The way that the wind pinched at his skin made his hairs stand on end. His eyes quivering as he bit his lips and tried to reach behind him, slowly and gingerly to draw his sword. Shulk and Pit did not seem to notice the shift in the atmosphere, but he could. Toon’s sense of touch and sight had grown exceptionally sensitive to make up for his loss of hearing, and even the slightest change in the environment did not fly by him. 

Hand on the hilt of his Master Sword, Toon shakily stood up and drew his sword in a quick slash in front of him just as he saw the slight shake in the shadows hidden by the bush. The silver blade swung with a shrill, sharp pitched noise, grabbing the attention of the bickering angel and seer towards Toon, their argument grinded to an abrupt halt as the group looked up to see who had appeared. 

Petrified in fear from the Master Sword barely missing their faces, stood two tiny children figures. Puffy jackets of blue and pink with fluff at the edges looked way too hot for the humid environment they were in, giant wool mittens covering their hands and high boots with spikes under them to grip the slippery surface the pair were used to hiking. With big wide eyes that rivalled Toon, hazel hair similar to that of Pit’s but less wild and faces painted with fear on the verge of breaking down into tears. Popo and Nana collapsed onto each other, hugging each other while suppressing their sniffles and whimpering by huddling closer to the other sibling. 

Toon’s fingers went numb as the sword slid from his fingers and fell to the ground with a loud clatter, Toon’s entire body doing the same as he fell back onto the ground in shock at nearly harming the Ice Climbers, the real Ice Climbers. Guilt bubbled and boiled within Toon’s veins, his heart seized and he found it hard to breathe until he felt something rub along his back. Drawing lines up and down his back, then transitioning into smooth circles around his shoulder, helping each tense muscle to relax. His breathing caught up to Him as Toon looked up to Shulk who gave a hushed gesture to Toon. ‘Relax’, Shulk signed as Toon nodded and swallowed the hard lump in his throat. 

Looking up back at Nana and Popo, Toon watched in silence as Pit fussed over the siblings. He could not hear what Pit was saying to them nor could he process anything. His mind was a blur, like a cyclone had whipped up in his mind, any semblance of reasonable thought fleeted his brain as he stared blankly at Pit. He watched as Pit started by rubbing his hand along the backs of each Ice Climber, first Popo and then Nana before using his one good wing to smother them in soft downy feathers. It took a while for both Popo and Nana to calm down and release their death grip on each other, around the same time that Toon was able to pull himself together once more. 

With the help of Shulk, Toon shakily stood back up on his legs and walked with Shulk towards Popo and Nana who were clambering around Pit, climbing onto his shoulders and covering their faces in his wings. Toon could not hear them, as per usual by now, but he saw their happy faces painted with wide smiles and relaxed. He slowly shuffled up to the twins and muttered a ‘Sorry’ to them, much to his surprise, the twins gave him a wide smile back and ran over to Toon. Their mittens interlocked with Toon’s hand as they raised them to the sky, giggling as they did and Toon felt his worries wash away in the instant as he too proceeded to laugh with them. 

After a bit of unwinding and letting Toon know that both Popo and Nana had forgiven him for the sudden attack, Popo and Nana quickly caught the attention for the group to listen to them, Shulk standing between them and Toon as the interpreter.

“We heard you want to-” “-climb the mountain!” Popo began and Nana finished, the twins in sync in their thinking and were liable to finish the other sibling’s sentence when they were close to each other. “We can teach you-” “-how to climb mountains quickly!” Pit and Shulk looked between each other and nodded in agreement. “Please do, Popo, Nana.” Pit grinned widely as he sat on the ground to face them at eye level, listening intently to their instructions. Toon took a seat in Shulk’s lap as Shulk signed as fast as he could for the young sailor. 

The siblings were enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge on how to climb mountains, despite being kids, their entire life just consisted of climbing those tall icy peaks, which made them the only experts in mountaineering amongst all the all-stars. The two had a knack for coordination and even took the time to show the group how to deal with emergencies on the mountain top and finding shelter when the weather got too rough. The way the two bounced around throughout their explanation was nothing short of entertaining and informational. Though if there was one thing that was left out, it would be the sacrifice that the Ice Climbers were afflicted with. No one dared to ask them anything about them, Pit, Shulk and Toon all silently agreed to not ruin the Ice Climber’s mood by reminding them of the depressing situation and they all chose not to chase their own sacrifices unless either Popo or Nana brought it up specifically. 

With all the steps taken, Popo and Nana gave the group a few extra supplies, mostly coming in the form of hot water bottles, some portable fuel and even a few bandages. When inquired on how they attained them, the twins only explained that they met up with other heroes back in a different area who plundered an abandoned city for them. “They are waiting for us so we cannot go with you. We only left to find-” “-more people who are lost and need a friend to team up with! Will you guys be okay?” Shulk was inclined to ask who they met, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind for now, it was not important after all. Time was of essence. “We will be fine.” Shulk assured the twins who grinned and gave each other a high five before turning to the group and giving them all a high five as well. 

“Good luck!” “Take care!” Popo and Nana called out, waving to the group before they disappeared into the bushes, the bubbly laughter of the two Ice Climbers soon fading off into the distance as they ran back to whichever group they had arranged with prior to their meeting. Pit was the first to take initiative, picking up their belongings and giving them to the respective owners as Shulk finished interpreting for Toon. Accepting their weapons, the group admired the mountain for a moment and then at each other in silent agreement before they made their way towards the mountain.

* * *

**### WARNING START ###**

Cold… so cold. Toon was never one to like cold places, he grew up on a tropical island so he was used to the humid weather and basking in the warm sun all day everyday. The hero’s tunic he received from grandma on his 10th birthday may have been warm on the island life, but in this climate, it definitely was not helping him at all. His boots sank deep into the snow, covering all the way up to his thighs with his tiny stature, making it hard for him to wade through the thickening snow. Every step felt laboured, and his feet felt heavy under the weight of the snow. He put up a brave facade when Shulk first asked him whether he would be fine, but now he wasn’t sure if he was. He was trailing behind… way behind now. 

Pit did not look like he was affected by the cold whatsoever, Toon automatically assumed it must be some divine angel protection that granted the angel frost immunity. Shulk on the other hand had actually prepared clothes, which was recycled from when he climbed a snowy mountain back in his home, Valak Mountain it was called? Toon couldn’t remember… or he couldn’t think any further than that. 

He felt Shulk stop in front of him, the seer turning back to look at Toon, turquoise eyes flooded with concern and worry for the lagging sailor. ‘Are you okay?’ Toon watched Shulk sign and Toon nodded, adamant about being brave. He was independent, he was a hero, he could not let anyone carry him, he was not a baby. Instead he waved Shulk off and pushed Shulk forward with his diminishing strength. As soon as his fingers came into contact with Shulk’s back was when he realized how much he was shaking. 

His finger tensed and shook, he could feel his lip quivering when he tried to part his stiff jaws. He never noticed how much his body was shaking up until now. He breathed in sharply. Bad idea. White hot pain seared his lungs, burning it and causing him to choke and cough on nothing but the stale air around him. He blinked desperately, eyelids getting heavier and heavier as he clawed at his own throat. He wanted to rip his entire respiratory system out. It was burning him, torturing him with every breath. Every single breath of air felt like swallowing needles. Just sheer hot pain. 

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

Perhaps his heart was beginning to sympathize with the pain in his lungs because it was slowing down too, like a slow sob when he first lost Aryll. Maybe his heart was trying to make him feel less lonely in this blizzard, as he felt it slowly calm down to a very slow beat. He could feel his own heart as it beat hard against his chest, slowly… slowly. He wanted to stop breathing, he really did. It all hurt way too much and he could feel the cold raking its claws across his neck. The lava that entered his lungs was torturous and he wanted to vomit it all out, so he tried. He raked his fingers across his throat once more… 

Since when did his fingers feel this light? He opened his eyes forward, watching Shulk running up towards him, hands outstretched and lips moving in a slow motion despite the low visibility of the blizzard. That was another thing… Toon - no. Link distinctly remembered the hailstones pelting against his skin and giving him red bruises across his cheeks with how cold it was, but now even as the blizzard picked up its pace around him… He felt nothing. Nothing on his cheeks, nothing on his fingers… Not even his feet felt heavy anymore. Dear Din, he felt nothing at all, nothing but his slow heart and his burning lungs. 

He tried to move forwards, but his vision drastically shifted from that of Shulk’s frantic frame to that of pure white snow. As he continued to blink slowly, his vision was cloaked in blank white snow, he found himself unable to move, unable to feel. The fire in his lungs seemed to have quelled down, for he was still breathing… well he knew he was because he could feel his chest rising up and down as he lay down on the soft blanket of white, but he could not feel himself breathing. He tried to open his mouth, to make a sound but nothing came out. He could not feel the bruises, the scratches he had made to his throat in order to breathe before. It all felt so surreal. 

“This is what it feels like. Hero of Winds. You belong with me now.” The malice-laced voice of Ganondorf boomed in his head. How was he in his head? Link could not grasp onto a reason why. “Look at me. Witness the marvellous art you carved along my body.” He looked, but he should never have followed that voice. Blood stained floor around him and the morbid corpse before him. The King of Darkness, Ganondorf kneeled in front of him, the Master Sword jutting out of his forehead, the blade’s silver edges coated in thick black blood that oozed from the petrified statue without stopping. It’s thick consistency fell down Ganondorf’s stone cheeks, falling onto the ground with a splatter, gross and thick. So dark, sticky and black, that moving his fingers towards it only left nothing but pure disgust etched into his distant mind as the blood clung to his fingers like mud. It hardened, thickened and coagulated on his fingers. Deep black blood staining his heart.

Link felt something cover his head and he wanted to scream, but no voice came out. His throat was clawed out, clawed out by his own hands, stained with the bright crimson blood he had shed. He saw it, saw how red and raw his throat was, soaked with blood, crimson and bright. Each muscle beating, fibers twitching. Red and raw, scratched out by his own nails. He saw Bellum, with all his tentacles wrapped around his legs, body, arms and head. Link had no voice to speak as he struggled against the malevolent creature’s bindings, but no strength came to his body. “Weak… So weak… and yet I lost to a kid this weak.” Bellum gurgled on and on, mocking Link who could do nothing against the strong holds that the squid held him in. “And so now you fall to me, how fitting. This is how it should have been all along. You and your triforce belonged to me from the start, sleeping with me at the bottom of the ocean for all eternity.” The grip around his head began to tighten, choking, coughing. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t fill his lungs with the sweet release of air. When he tried, all he inhaled was lava, pure hot lava that burned at his raw throat, exposed and bleeding.

Something heavy slammed itself into Link’s chest, forcing all the painful air out of him before he resumed his breathing once more, this time the air was not as painful. The way that his chest heaved up and down beneath the weight, he could feel his pharynx burning like it first did when he started… started… where was he again? Link’s mind was a scattered pile of paper in the wind, no clear thought came to his mind, nothing cohesive formed no matter how hard he tried to remember. All he knew was that he could feel something breathing right into his face. A pig-like demon with striking blue skin breathed down his mouth, breaths heavy and overbearing, forcing Link to take his breath along with him. “I lost to a conductor like you. So small. So weak. So pathetic…” Menacing curved horns of gold grazed over Link’s forehead and he could feel the heat from the horn’s bruise. It seared his skin and he could feel it burn. He felt Malladus breathing with him, the giant demon’s grip over his chest, pushing his chest up and down by his whims and fancies. 

“You belong with us.” The demons of his past, the villains he had felled, they all screamed in unison as they engulfed his vision in black. Guilt, pain and sickness threatened to spill out of his numb mouth, cold and stiff. Until it suddenly seemed to stop, like he could breathe again… normally. The pain lingered in his chest and throat but it got better as his eyes swam to the light once more. Link blinked slowly at first, belatedly noticing how heavy his eyelids were until Link finally managed to wrench it open, staring at the dark rocky ceiling above him. 

‘Where?’ Link wanted to ask, only to be ghosted by two black shadows above him. Was it Ganondorf and Malladus? Were they here to torture him with their deaths again? Link did not want to see it again. He had enough. He tried to struggle and call for help but something held him down, a strong grip on both his weak and numb arms, preventing him from moving. Link slowly lost the strength to struggle and he resigned to his fate. ‘Just end me already.’ Link pleaded silently to the shadows. ‘Just take with you.’ 

But the darkness never came. Were they torturing him by elongating this painful suffering? Link would not be surprised… they were villains after all. It was not out of this world that they wanted revenge on the hero that stole their life. But they deserved it… didn’t they? They did… at least Link would like to think, but was murdering them in cold blood really a good thing? Was he really a hero like that? Everyone taught him that murder was bad, cold-blooded and even worthy of divine punishment, but he was caught up in the dellusions of being a hero that maybe, just maybe. 

Maybe being a hero was not a good thing after all? 

When Link found the courage to face Ganondorf and Malladus once more, he blinked twice. Since when did Malladus have only one eye? Where did Ganondorf go? His questions soon answered by Ganondorf’s shadow filling his vision, lifting him up closer and closer before placing Link’s body on his back. Since when did Ganondorf have such bright light tattoos dancing across his skin? He blinked thrice as he tried to look over Ganondorf’s shoulder where Bellum was. Only that Bellum looked strangely like a bird, with real feathers and a beak. Was he going crazy? 

Ganondorf began to run with Link on his back. ‘Where are they taking me?’ Link could not find it in himself to answer that question. He just wanted them to end him already. What was taking them so long? Why aren’t they talking anymore? I cannot hear them… hear… Wasn’t I… Deaf? A new smell and a new wind touched his skin… his skin… he could feel it again as he finally decided to open his eyes this time. 

**### WARNING END ###**

The light seared his eyes that had gotten used to the darkness, burning them as he squeezed them shut almost instantly. He could not hear himself groan but he could feel his tongue lolling back and forth as they made the motion to groan, he just prayed that his voice was heard. When he opened his eyes once more after adjusting to the sudden shift in light intensity, he was grateful that his silent voice was heard. Through hazy vision he picked out Pit, the angel’s singular blue eye wide with worry and concern as he ghosted a right hand over Toon’s face and talked to him. Toon could see his mouth move but his brain was too tired to read it. 

He saw Shulk, the lines on the seer’s body were flashing erratically and then slowed to a more rhythmic pace as a smile of relief dressed itself upon the visionary’s features. The lines of the monado did not skip a beat in expressing how worried Shulk really was as the Seer sat next to Toon on the opposite side of where Pit stood. Toon could feel the bed shake under him as Shulk sat on it. Wait bed? Since when was there a bed on the mountain? Perhaps he was still dreaming. Toon felt his muscles move in response to his feelings and he forced a weak smile upon his face, trying to move his numb arms towards Shulk and Pit. He couldn’t feel much in his limbs but from the warmth that surged through his body after that, he felt comfortable enough as his mind drifted off again.

* * *

“Chill guys, you gotta relax. He is just sleeping for now.” Came the assuring voice that opened the door to the room that Toon was resting in. Shulk sighed and gripped Toon’s hand as Pit continued to fuss over the warmth of the warm water bottles around Toon, moving them and shifting them around. “Thanks Falco. You did not have to make us any food. Pit and I could have prepared it ourselves. It's the least we can do to return the favour of letting us stay on the Great Fox.” 

The blue bird scoffed as he placed a tray of microwaved meals on the floor next to the bed that Toon lay in, taking a seat on a chair adjacent to the bed as he leaned back into the chair, waving Shulk off with a wing. “Don’t mention it. We need to help each other in these difficult situations. Plus I can’t just leave a kid to freeze like that. Thank Fox for storing medical supplies on the Great Fox, not me.” Falco sighed leaning the chair back on two legs as he rocked himself back and forth in a lazy manner. “The food is just pre-packaged meals, nothing too serious. You guys won’t even leave the kid’s side to cook so I just took it upon myself.” 

“Thank you Falco.” Pit smiled to which the avian merely waved Pit off as he stared at the ceiling above him. “No seriously thank you.” Falco made a clicking sound with his beak and stared at Pit with sharp eyes. “As much as I like all this praise since it helps my ego, hearing you say it over and over again drives me up a wall, so you can stop that now.” Pit immediately shut up and Falco chuckled. “Relax angel, just loosen up a bit. The kid is alive so you don’t have to worry about him. It’s a good thing I found you guys in time, the timing was almost perfect when I left the Great Fox to check out another one of that bitchass Galeem’s barriers getting destroyed.” Falco looked over to Shulk who locked eyes with the bird who smirked at the seer. “Good thing you came out to witness that barrier shattering too or I would never have found you.” 

“Thank Bionis for that one.” Shulk laughed as he squeezed the sheets under him. “It was a shock to hear the barrier shatter while Pit was doing CPR on Toon. It was just fate I guess that you found us in that cave.” Falco sneered as he got up from the chair and strolled over to Shulk, picking up the tray of food in the process and shoving it into the seer’s hands before returning to his seat.

“You should eat.” Falco asserted with a squint. “You two haven’t eaten much since we took the kid in. If you don’t nourish yourself then you cannot tend to the kid.” As much as Shulk wanted to protest, Falco was right, they couldn’t work on an empty stomach and Pit’s stomach was only supporting Falco’s argument as it let out a loud growl. Flushed in red, Pit grabbed his own plate and began to devour his meal, shovelling food into his mouth as fast as he could with only one arm. Quite an impressive feat. Pit stopped halfway to point his spoon at Shulk with a narrow blue look. “Remember to eat your ether potions or crystal formula with your meal.” Pit reminded him with a glare, only for Shulk to gulp as Falco seemed interested in what Pit was saying. His eyes met Shulk and the seer in question could only sigh. “It's a long story.” Falco laughed in response. “We have all the time in the world to tell our stories as we wait for the kid to wake up.”

* * *

It took a whole day for Toon to finally wake up and for his condition to return to a stable state. The sailor was downright confused when he blinked his eyes open to not see death but to see the metallic surfaces and light from the Great Fox’s infirmary. Rubbing his eyes with his arm, Toon tried to sit up but he was weighed down by the multiple layers of quilts and blankets that were stacked on top of him. To add to that, Pit was sleeping on top of those layers, hand and wings splayed over the bed in a haphazard way of sleeping. Toon could not help but feel a pang of guilt, Pit must have been sleeping and watching over him since he collapsed. 

Though his muscles were stiff from disuse, Toon made the effort to turn his head to the side where he saw Falco sitting in a chair, beak opening and closing in short bursts, probably whistling. Until his eyes caught the sharp eyes of the bird and Falco stopped. A wry grin painted across the avian’s beak as Falco made his way to Toon. Toon could vaguely see Falco’s beak move but speaking with a beak was different from speaking with human lips so he could not read what Falco was saying at all. He gave up after a while and resorted to squinting at Falco, squishing his face up as much as he could to give Falco the hint that he could not understand him. 

It took the blue bird a while but he got the point, eventually, as he woke up Pit with a slight kick to the angel’s legs. The angel shot up from the bed with a start, looking around in mild surprise and bewilderment before Falco gestured towards Toon. In a blink of an eye, Toon felt Pit’s arm and wing wrap around his neck as Pit pulled Toon into a hug. As much as Pit meant no harm, he was actually putting way too much force into his hug that he was beginning to knock the breath out of Toon. As the young Hylain tried to use his weak muscles to wrestle himself out of Pit’s death grip, Falco jumped in to rescue him by dragging Pit away from Toon, eyes alight with a fire as he began to chide Pit. The angel looked remorseful and Toon could not help but laugh slightly as he finally found the strength in his arms to push himself up into a sitting position. 

Falco soon left the room, leaving Pit to explain what happened to Toon and to fill in the details that were missing in Toon’s spotted memory. Toon shuddered at the knowledge that he almost died from hypothermia up in the mountain’s harsh conditions but was silently grateful to Falco for finding them and allowing them to stay in the Great Fox, Star Fox’s main airship, to let Toon recover. ‘Shulk is currently helping Falco do maintenance on the Great Fox since its engine is busted.’ Pit signed to Toon helpfully as the young sailor slowly absorbed all the information he was given. It was a lot to process, but Toon was confident he would be able to sort it all out in due time. 

Despite his skin still being relatively numb, Toon could feel the door to the infirmary open once more and he shifted his gaze from Pit to the door. Standing at the doorway was Falco again and next to him was Shulk, covered in oil and dirt across his face, but even that was not enough to cover the light of the Monado lines on the visionary’s skin. Wiping a hand on his clothes, Shulk made his way slowly to Toon’s bed and ruffled the little sailor’s head, his mouth moving slowly, giving Toon time to read it. 

‘Welcome back.’ 

With a giggle, Toon took Shulk’s hand and with a shaky finger, began to trace the glowing blue lines on Shulk’s skin, giggling and smiling. “I am back.” He replied with full confidence in his voice, not wavering and without any stutters of volume. 

Toon watched as Shulk went into the backroom of the infirmary to wash the oil and dirt off himself as Pit picked up some blankets and bundled Toon in them before setting the young Hylian on his lap facing Falco. Falco took his usual seat on a chair across the bed and when Shulk finally came out of the backroom, hair steaming and skin wet from the shower, they all gathered together in a circle. Pit acting as the interpreter for Toon.

“Well then.” Falco began as he clicked his beak in satisfaction. “The kid is awake and the Great Fox is fixed. Life could not get any smoother huh?” He chuckled cheekily at Shulk who merely waved him off. “The Great Fox’s engine is similar to that of buggies back in my homeworld, so it wasn’t that hard to fix it. Plus my experience as a mechanic only made it easier, any mechanic from my homeworld could fix it faster than I could.” Falco was still quite impressed that Shulk remained this humble but chose not to chase it. 

“Either Ways, thanks to you Monado boy, the Great Fox can finally fly again. You did manage to finish up the other favour I asked you for right?” Falco raised an eye at Shulk who rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah I did, I modified the Landmaster and the Arwing as you asked so that you can transport the Arwing on top of the Landmaster. Why did you need that done again?” Shulk inquired as Falco smirked. “Why because I am going to use that to roam this World of Light and leave the Great Fox to your group.” 

“WHAT?!” Both Pit and Shulk spluttered out, leaving Toon confused on the situation, since Pit had opted to react to Falco’s rather outlandish statement than translate for the Hero of Courage. The bird waved his wings in front of him, gesturing for the group to calm down. “Calm your feathers down. I am not _giving_ you the Great Fox. Think about it as a loan for now, since I won’t be taking the Great Fox with me anywhere. Hell, I don’t even know how to pilot the damn ship.” Falco tapped his foot on the ground as he pressed a few buttons on the headset he wore. “Due to that bitchass Galeem, I am no longer liable to stay in the air. I get airsick really easily if I am on a flying vehicle. As much as I personally prefer the air, I cannot stay in an airborne vehicle, it’s depressing.” 

Falco leaned back in his chair with a scowl, twiddling with the cap of a cylinder he had hanging from his belt, tossing it up and down with his feathers. “So I will be giving you the Great Fox to fly your way to Galeem and beat that bitchass for me in my place.” Falco smirked as he leaned back towards the group and caught the silver cap in a feather. “How about it?” Shulk held a finger on his chin in deep thought, Falco was making a convincing point and the deal didn’t sound all that bad… but facing Galeem on their own? Just the three of them? He didn’t like it at all. The doubtful look on Shulk’s face did not fly by Pit’s watchful eye as the angel elbowed Shulk with a wide grin. 

“Don’t be such a pessimist Shulk.” Pit encouraged him as he looked at Falco with the confidence he was known for. “We will do it! Thanks for everything you have done for us Falco!” Falco puffed up his chest in pride and satisfaction. “Normally I would recommend you guys to rest a bit more, especially you kid.” Falco shot a sharp look at Toon who frowned and stuck out a tongue at Falco, the avian squawked in annoyance. “But I think time is of essence right now. The kid seems to be up and ready to fight again if he can lash back like that, so I don’t doubt you guys will be able to do it.” Falco nodded as he got up from his chair. “We will send you off then.” Shulk sat up with a start as Pit picked up Toon, setting the young Hylian on his shoulders as they followed Falco down to the ship containment where Falco’s vehicles were parked. 

After Shulk briefly explained to Falco the mechanisms of releasing the Arwing from the Landmaster, Falco jumped into the Landmaster without a second of hesitation. Pulling down his headset and setting a few coordinates, the avian ace-pilot looked over his shoulder at the group and chuckled. “Good luck to you all! I will let as many others know about the fight and try to gather them up to support you if necessary. So don’t go dying on me now!” Shulk frowned, he was still hesitant about the fight, going in with only Pit and Toon by his side. If Falco was not liable to die on the trip to Galeem, he would have definitely convinced the pilot to come along for backup but Falco seemed more confident in them than Shulk ever would be. 

“Thank you Falco! Good luck to you too!” Pit called out before Shulk could get a word in. Doubt began to bubble and boil in the pits of Shulk’s stomach but he really didn’t want to ruin the mood that Pit and Falco tried to upkeep after the stressful day of healing Toon. The conflict gave him a headache, the lines on his body stuttering a little but he quickly shook it off. He did not want his body to betray him. Not yet at least. Wrestling a smile onto his face, Shulk waved at Falco as well. 

Gearing up the Landmaster, the engines began to stir and rumble. Falco pulled his headset over his eyes and his beak lit up with a grin. “FIRE!” He cried out as the Landmaster revved up and shot out of the Great Fox, engines whirring as the Landmaster battled through the blizzard, its heavy tracks left deep scars on the snow as it travelled down the icy mountain. Only a few seconds and Falco and his Landmaster-Arwing were gone. Shulk looked out at the blizzard as the giant door of the Great Fox’s docking area began to close and he nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Toon smiled at Shulk with a wide grin before the small Hylian slowly climbed down from his vantage point on Pit’s shoulder. 

The little sailor seemed stronger and healed as he jumped about to test his reflexes and gave Shulk a thumbs up. Still that didn’t help to settle the uncertainty that had piled up in Shulk’s gut. Pit interrupted the line of thought by asking a very important question. “So… who is going to pilot the ship?” Another predicament, but this time it didn’t take long for an answer to pop up as Toon raised his hand immediately once the question was signed to him. A very confident smirk on the sailor’s face.

* * *

‘I have manually switched on the Great Fox so it's ready to go.’ Shulk signed to Toon who held his fingers over the glass screen where a virtual ship wheel was displayed. Toon gave Shulk a nod and a smile before placing his fingers strongly on the panel and began to turn the virtual wheel. The revving and the vibrations of the Great Fox starting up rocked the entire ship, causing a few lights to flicker from the very violent start up. Toon wished he could give the vessel a smoother take off, but there were too many buttons and he didn’t know what half of them did. 

‘Team StarFox has way too many complicated systems and buttons for me to comprehend in such a short amount of time, but at least I can steer this vessel.’ Was all Toon managed to think as he attempted to turn the Great Fox around. The subsequent lurches of the Great Fox were stressful but soon the ship was beginning to hover in the air, the engines finally warming up and thawing after being left in the blizzard atop an icy mountain. Toon was at the helm, turning and steering the ship to face Galeem while Shulk made sure that all the display panels showed a good status of the ship, supporting Toon by pressing the buttons he was familiar with and knew how they worked. Where was Pit?

Toon whipped his head around left and right trying to spot the angel, but Pit was nowhere in the control room. Scowling slightly, the sailor turned his attention back to steering the Great Fox and with a lot of effort and a few failed attempts to make the Great Fox gain altitude, the giant ship was coursing through the skies, the ship’s destination? Galeem. 

Shulk left Toon to steer the ship since the young sailor needed to focus and he didn’t want to break that concentration that the sailor had. If he did, the ship might crash back to earth and that would be the end of them all. Shulk shivered at the thought, deciding to find Pit instead. This did not take long since Shulk bumped into Pit in one of the corridors of the Great Fox, the light angel waving a mirror at the visionary. “Check it out Shulk!” Pit exclaimed, flaunting the mirror he held. “I found this in Fox’s room, it has quite a nice pattern to it, don’t you think?” 

The mirror was made of a shiny silver material that had the StarFox logo etched into the back of it as well as the dainty rims sculpted to look like Fox, Falco, Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare. A nice little trinket. “It’s not yours Pit.” Shulk chided, trying to take the mirror from Pit but the angel refused, pocketing it in his satchel. “It's fine.” Pit assured. “I will return it to Fox when I see him again. I just need it for now okay?” Shulk was not convinced in the slightest but the way that Pit gave him the puppy dog eyes made him melt under the pressure. 

“Fine. But it better be returned to Fox in the condition you found it in. No scratches and the like.” To which Pit agreed as they both returned to the control room when the speakers in the Great Fox boomed with a static sound and Toon’s scratchy voice came online. “Guys. Galeem.” Without a moment to spare, the two rushed towards the control room. 

Bursting into the control room, the two were immediately blinded by a bright light, a light as intense as a million suns shoved right in their faces. Blinking, both Shulk and Pit finally managed to regain their bearings and adjust to the sudden change in light intensity to see the one they had been waiting to get their hands on since the very beginning of this whole journey. 

A giant ball of light shining high in the sky, its spherical body wrapped in iridescent wings shining in hues of yellow, purple and orange. Glimmering with sparkles of light that rained down onto the earth and the sheen of metal across those wings which upon closer inspection was more metallic than feathery. The light suddenly shifted to look in the direction of the Great Fox and a giant stairway appeared before the Great Fox, providing them with a pad to land on. 

Bracing themselves, Toon steered the ship down onto the landing pad that the Lord of Light had so graciously granted them. Towards Galeem. That fight was within reach now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna update as much as I can before Xenoblade DE is released, because I know I am going to be so focused on that that I forget to write lol. 
> 
> God I cannot write fight scenes... I dread writing this boss fight already.


	10. Galeem I

### Chapter 10: Galeem I

The Great Fox landed gently on the platform that Galeem had provided for the vessel, ensuring a smooth landing for the small group that arrived on the Great Fox: Shulk, Toon and Pit. When the ship docked, a release of steam and smoke billowed from the exhausts at the back of the Great Fox, a grating noise and the slow movement of the main door of the Great Fox opened. Stepping out of the Great Fox and onto the glimmering golden landing platform were the three heroes, the first to challenge Galeem. 

Replica Monado on Shulk’s back, Master Sword and Shield in Toon’s hand and Palutena Bow in Pit’s right. The three stood on the platform, before looking up in unison to face Galeem, who awaited their arrival at the top of the golden stairway that the Lord of Light had manifested from the glimmering light that came from its glorious splendour. There is no room for hesitation, there is only one path left for them. 

The path forward towards Galeem. 

Heavy steps upon those golden steps of light, each step they took seemed to spread glitter around them, bright lights that danced around them, mocking them and sneering at them as they climbed higher and higher. As if to tease them further, the stairs began to twist itself to have cold golden railings for them to grab onto for support if they needed it. A waste of energy, just to flaunt how much power the Lord of Light held. It was overwhelming, it was bright, too bright. 

“So… you dare fight me?” The voice of the Lord of Light was sticky on the ears, at least for Pit and Shulk. The three finally stepped upon the solid platform that sat in front of Galeem, it looked like the battlefield stage… but there were 4 platforms instead of the usual 3. With a rumble and a violent shake, the golden stairway that the group had used to ascend towards galeem began to crumble into golden dust, disappearing with the wind as the Lord of Light drew closer to the platform where they were now stranded on. There was no escape now. 

“I am Galeem… the Lord of Light. I was the one who imprisoned all of you. All of you… escaping my clutches… it was not free now was it?” The mocking voice of Galeem boomed around them as the Lord of Light continued to mock them. “A Seer with no weapon and with a body that cannot support his fighting style. A music conductor who lost his hearing. An angel who only has half of himself left, broken and unusable. This is your punishment for going against me.” The Lord of Light grew closer and closer to the platforms, the light from its spherical body was blinding. The light was too intense, so bright it hurt to look. 

“If you had just quietly stayed put in your chains, I would have built the utopia I have been dreaming up ever since the start. Still you dare to fight against me? The one who stole what you lost?” Three different weapons drawn and pointed straight at the glowing orb that was Galeem and the Lord of Light floated away from the platforms slightly. The fire burned in the two-and-a-half pairs of eyes, their determination to end it strong in their heart. Even if one of them felt a little pessimistic at this point, they steeled their courage for there was no turning back now. 

“The fire that burns within my heart will never be put out. I’ll always fight, I’ll never stop, I can’t be stopped even if you take away half of my body!” Pit cried out at Galeem in retaliation, pointing the sharp edge of the golden bow at Galeem. “You may try to keep me bound, but you can never extinguish the anger in my heart. The anger for you, you who took away all I knew and loved! We will take it all back! Our friends, families and comrades!” 

“You never even cared for any life at all.” Toon hissed out, his speech was still impaired, fluctuating and tone almost grating. “So for those whose lives you coldly wrestled away, I will fight for them.” The Master Sword drawn and held tightly in Toon’s grip, his shield raised as he held it in front of him. Wide eyes staring at Galeem as the young sailor put on a brave face and readied his stance.

“To fight for a future for everyone. To seize our own destiny, I shall strike you down here.” Shulk announced as he flung his blade in front of him, the bright blue beam blade bursting out in a shower of sparks. “For all my friends who came to this realm with me, their hopes high and excited to meet the all-stars of the multiverse, only to be extinguished by your light. For my comrades who wish to seek their own destiny. For the others cheering us on from the earth below. For them, I will fight!” 

Galeem’s wings flashed with a golden shower and they tightened around the glowing sun sphere, their metallic sheen bright and blinding as the Lord of Light rose a little higher above the platform. Situating itself next to the higher platforms, Galeem let out a grating high pitched noise as he glowed. “Then come fight me. I will show you the true power of the light.” 

Pit was the first to engage, Palutena Bow placed in his mouth as he split it into the two blades that made up the golden bow, holding one half in his right and the other in his mouth as he leaped onto the platform where Galeem floated above. Golden streaks dancing through the air as Pit swiped his blade right into the glowing sphere, whereupon sparks flew from the point of impact and the Lord of Light flashed momentarily from the impact. Pit was not done, using his momentum, he leaned his shoulder into his movement and with the second half of the bow blade in his mouth, carved another hit into Galeem. A large spark flew from Galeem and rested itself upon Pit’s face, a flinch from the angel as he quickly drew himself back, using the back of his hand to rub at the wound. The spark had burned him slightly, leaving the area of impact a bit red from the heat of the spark. “How dare you defile my perfect body!” Screamed the glowing sphere of light before a giant explosion and a cloud of dust cut Galeem’s sentence off. Toon lit another bomb in his hand and threw it at Galeem who disappeared and appeared on the highest platform. 

“Explode me? How dare you! Such insolence! I will burn your face off!” Galeem locked his wings together and from the sparks and light across the stage, three white glowing orbs formed in midair. Each distinct sphere had an odd plus sign carved into its shape, the design glimmering with a bright blue, sparking with orange and yellow. “Burn. Burn! BURN!” Shulk jumped onto the first layer of platforms and he choked on his own breath as a familiar sensation washed over his senses as he stumbled in his step. The sea of blue that flooded his eyes sent a searing pain through his temples, burning, stabbing his mind, clutching at his heart as the future played out before him. Time slowed down to a breath a minute, Shulk pulled at his own hair as he forced his eyes to peel open despite the splitting pain in his temples to witness the vision he was given. The white orbs that Galeem had created burst into columns of blue flames, wisps of ash left in its wake as it engulfed both Pit and Toon, leaving nothing but their burnt corpses in the aftermath of ashes. He could smell it, the bitter smell of burnt hair and clothes, the smell of smoking meat, and he could feel his own despair rising up his throat. ‘Do you want that future to pass?... No? Then destroy it. Destroy them all.’

Time resumed and Shulk caught himself before he fell face first on the platform he was on. His eyes seared on the bombs that Galeem planted in the air. Knocking the base of his sword on the platform, its blue energy blade burst out as Shulk’s left eye shifted from its usual turquoise into green. His legs became cloaked in a glowing green aura, the lines on his body reflecting the same fluorescent colours before Shulk took to the air. The blade swung across him as he slashed its blade pierced through the bombs, making it crumble into nothing but yellow dust. “Destroy the bombs!” Shulk cried out to Pit as the angel looked over his shoulder and nodded in response. Without a second to waste, Pit jumped and sliced another bomb in half with his blade and reformed his bow so he could talk. “One more Shulk!” 

He didn’t need to be told twice as Shulk leaped from platform to platform reaching the highest point of stage. A quick slice and the blue blade disarmed the last bomb as Galeem screeched in pain from Toon shooting another arrow at the ball of light. “Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! How dare you destroy my utopia!” Toon quickly threw his boomerang before he backed away to a lower platform, allowing Pit to jump at Galeem, the golden bow cut out another chunk of light from Galeem, sending the Lord of Light back a bit in a whirl of bright sparks. Shulk quickly took the time to down an ether vial just in time as the green aura faded away. With his ether replenished, he was relieved at the realization that the numbness in his legs did not come, his ether replenished just in time to stave off the repercussions of using his Monado arts. Tossing the used glass bottle off the edge of the stage, Shulk grabbed the hilt of his weapon and quickly repositioned himself just as Galeem disappeared. 

Reappearing to the left side of the stage, Galeem screeched as he started to stretch and expand. A bright flash of light as he split himself into 3 different spheres of light, each split image of Galeem’s was almost as bright as the original. Brilliant glows of orange and yellow, flying with sparks of white ashes as Galeem’s mocking laughs echoed through the sky and each ball of light began to spit out a volley of fireballs. Pit bit onto his bow, running and grabbing Toon by the collar towards Shulk before throwing the young Hylian at the homs. With a swift motion, Pit directed his Guardian Orbitars at Galeem, producing a giant glass shield, surface shimmering like a mirror that reflected each and every fireball back at Galeem whilst protecting his comrades. Galeem screeched at the fire that was returned to him, using his metallic wings to try and put out the flames that cloaked his bright spherical body, disappearing once more without reappearing immediately. Howls of pain echoing across the skies even when that divine ball of light was out of sight smothering the flames. 

“Everyone okay?” Pit called out as he stored his orbitars once more and removed his bow from between his jaws. “All good.” Shulk confirmed as Toon nodded briefly before jumping to his feet, using the short break time to confirm that he was still in fighting condition. Galeem reappeared and hissed out, voice echoing with pure anger. “You dare… you dare burn my beautiful body! You dare destroy this perfect beauty?” Galeem’s body began to spark, electricity flying off his body as he glowed a bright blue. A bright burst of energy as a luminous sphere of electricity was shot into the middle of the stage, splitting into four separate smaller electric bullets. “I will fry you first!” Galeem screeched with a high pitched whistle. Toon held out his shield in front of him, a ball of electricity homing in on him and pushing him back but his shield blocked out the majority of its blast. Pit leaped into the air, backflipping over one bullet and fell quickly to the ground to barely miss the next. With nowhere to run, Shulk held out his weapon in front of him and a bright yellow aura surrounded his body, accompanied by the usual yellow lines on his skin and glowing yellow left eye. He took the blast straight on, causing Pit and Toon to cry out in concern, but with a swing of his blade, Shulk came out mostly unscathed as a layer of hardened ether formed a circle around him like a shield. 

The homs fumbled to drink another ether potion before giving a thumbs up to ease the worries of the angel and the sailor. “Don’t worry about me!” Shulk called out as he discarded the second glass bottle, letting the empty vessel fall to the ground far below the stage, out of sight. “Focus on attacking Galeem!” With a battle cry, Pit dashed at the Lord of Light that was still recovering from shooting the electric orbs, sharp end of the Palutena bow cutting deeper and deeper into Galeem’s body. With a kick of his foot to end the attack, Pit sent Galeem tumbling through the air into Toon’s Master Sword, who stabbed Galeem causing the Lord of Light to scream in a gargled cry. Toon breathed in sharply, using his shield to bash Galeem’s bright body straight towards Shulk like a ping pong ball as the visionary let his blade fly. The blue blade sparked as it made contact with Galeem’s body, white hot sparks flying off the trade as Shulk was blown back a bit on his feet as Galeem quickly hovered towards the sky. “Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!” Galeem gurgled out as his wings immediately raised themselves into the sky, forming drill-like shapes in the skies, twisting, folding and overlapping with their metallic feathers and ends. “I will bury you here and turn your mangled corpses into fertiliser for my utopia!” The wing-drills shot towards the stage at devastating speeds, a loud grating sound like nails of chalkboard hissed from the wings as they were thrust into the stage. 

‘Run.’ Shulk leaped out of the area where the wing-drills aimed to pierce the stage, narrowly avoiding the sharp end of the drills as they pierced straight through the stage, leaving gaping holes in their wake. Each edge of the wings were sharp as knives, even touching them could cut your skin into ribbons, mince one into minced meat seeing how cleanly it sliced through the stage. Grabbing his hook shot, Toon shot the sharp end towards the edge of the platform, latching onto the curved end as he reeled the chain back, allowing his tiny body to be drawn back by the recoiling chain, barely dodging the wings. Pit was not as lucky however, the angel was slow in the air with the lack of one wing, hampering his air speed. He managed to roll across the stage but the edge of the wing-drill nicked his right wing. 

With a cry of pain, Pit crashed into the ground, leaving a trail of blood that spilled from the large cut in his wings. White feathers fell to the ground, falling into the small pools of blood and staining them pure, bright red in colour. Pit dropped his bow with another roar of pain as he wrapped his injured wing around his body, trying to use his right hand to soothe the pain. It was an awkward way to twist his body, if he had his left side, he would be gripping at his injured wing but his left was numb and weak, he couldn’t control it. Pain shot up his back, and the angel hissed and held back his screams as tears welled up in his right blue eye, squeezed shut, as he writhed in pain on the floor of the stage. Blood splattered and spilled from his injured wing, staining even the downy feathers that were left on the wing into a bright blood red. Holding in his breath, Shulk ran up to Pit drinking bottle after bottle of ether potion before he held his hands over the angel’s struggling figure. 

The lines painted all over Shulk’s skin began to illuminate with a pale blue colour as Shulk took in a deep breath. He channeled the ether within him, the ether in his stomach as he directed it towards his palms. As the lines on his body painted Shulk’s figure with a glowing blue light, it made Shulk look like a pale blue lamp as he tapped into his ether reserves. The warm sensation at the seer’s fingertips as he ran the energy across Pit’s wings, the ether mending the cut in the angel’s wing. 

While Shulk was casting Light Heal over and over again on Pit’s wing, Toon took it upon himself to keep the Lord of Light busy. Toon threw his weapons at the Lord of Light, boomerang, a few arrows and even more bombs. Over and over again as he distracted the Lord of Light from attacking the crippled Pit and Shulk who was trying his hardest to heal the angel. Lighting another bomb in his tiny hands, Toon tossed it at Galeem only for the Lord of Light to disappear instantly and the bomb exploded into nothing, spewing clouds of gunpowder into a void of nothing. 

Galeem reappeared with a burst of sparks and dust, hovering just above the highest platform as his wings momentarily flashed with blue and began to draw purple lines into space, the lines carving deep into the atmosphere as if Galeem was outlining the space around him. Each wing tinted with bluish-purple as they drew the lines, through the space around the group before they suddenly turned and twisted itself to point towards Shulk and Pit. It reminded Toon of the laser pointers that guided a shooter where to fire, just like Snake once explained to him. Galeem was going to shoot Shulk and Pit while Shulk was healing the latter. 

Shaking his head in realization, Toon began to run. He ran towards the platforms, jumping from platform to platform. Slow, too slow, he knew that he was too slow to stop Galeem from firing his next attack, but there had to be something he could do to protect them. His hands brushed over his hookshot and he gripped its handle tight as he whipped it out and immediately shot out the hook. The chain extended long and far towards Galeem and wrapped around the sphere of light, the chains constricting and holding tight to the Lord of Light as he struggled against the chains. Toon leaped off the lower platform reeling the chain in as he swung himself across the stage, the lines were all concentrated on his chest, body blocking Galeem’s aim at Shulk and Pit. With a roar, Toon used his free hand to unsheathe his Master Sword as he rose like a rocket towards Galeem, Master Sword held in front of him as he cried out his own battle cry.

“Don’t get it my way midget!” Galeem screamed challenging Toon’s charge head on. With another cry, Toon’s fingers released their hold on the hookshot as he used the prior momentum to have both hands thrust his master sword straight at Galeem. His blade connected into Galeem’s body, sinking deep into the Lord of Light’s body, causing a huge crack to appear on the pristine spherical body of Galeem’s. Bursts of light, dust, sparks and flames coated the Master Sword when it carved the fissure across Galeem’s body. A blood-curdling howl of pain raked across the skies as Galeem fired a volley of lasers in retaliation at Toon, the lasers shooting straight through Toon’s legs, piercing through the limb and appearing out the other side. 

Wails of agony escaped Toon’s lips as he released his grip on the Master Sword and fell victim to gravity as he plummeted towards the stage. He couldn’t hold back the shrieks of pain that escaped from his mouth, not that Toon could hear it, but he could feel his lungs and heart getting crushed from the pain, his throat going sore and dry from his silent screams. White hot pain seared through his leg, he could feel the muscles holler in pain as agony shot up his leg and into his body. He could feel the crushing pressure of torment coursing through his veins, spurts of blood pouring from the hole in his leg. He felt himself fall… fall… bracing himself for the impact with the ground. 

“Got you!” Toon’s falling body was caught in the nick of time by Shulk who had just finished healing Pit. Shifting Toon’s body to inspect the injured leg, Shulk has to hold himself back from throwing up as he held thick bandages over Toon’s bleeding leg. He began to wrap the bandages tightly around Toon’s leg which was spewing out blood like a fountain. The hole bore right through Toon’s leg, exposing the bone and his muscle fibres, bleeding, pulsing with raw red blood. Shulk hastily tied the bandages round and round Toon’s leg, tying it up with a thick knot before gently swinging Toon over his shoulder. Pit stumbled to his feet and grimaced at how quickly Toon’s bandages got soaked through with dripping blood on Shulk’s back. The angel had folded his crippled wing gently behind his back as he raised his gaze towards Galeem. 

Galeem let out a burst of light as his wing tips sharpened into razor sharp ends, a bright aura of light alight with fire now surrounding his main body as he disappeared into whatever pocket dimension he liked to hide in. A rumbling sound reverberated throughout the entire stage as waves of light began to surge towards the group, as the crests and troughs of the waves rose and dipped around the group, even the slightest touch of the light waves sent an intense burning pain through their bodies. The only option left was to avoid the waves of light. Jumping, falling and even barely staying slightly airborne to avoid the waves of light, Pit and Shulk maneuvered their way through wave after wave, trying their hardest to parkour and avoid the incoming waves of light that burned on contact. Shulk had a harder time than Pit since he had Toon as extra baggage, but he strained himself to continue avoiding, dodging and jumping away from the waves of light. 

“Why don’t you use Light Heal again to heal Toon?” Pit called out as his ankle barely missed the crest of a wave. “I can’t!” Shulk called out as he used one hand to support himself in a backflip and the other to make sure Toon did not fall off his back. The young sailor was letting soft moans and groans of discomfort on Shulk’s back, eyes shut tight as he tried to cope with the pain. “I am using up way too much ether already! If I push myself any further, I might faint myself and you will be left alone!”

“Point taken!” The response from the angel was hasty as he landed safely on the ground once more. The waves of light soon receded away as Galeem reappeared in all his glory. He was bright, too bright. It blinded both Shulk and Pit when they tried to look at the Lord of Light. Galeem glowed brightly, blinding light that reflected his anger, annoyance and insanity. Beyond this point, all that Galeem seemed to scream out was nothing but gargled nonsense in his delusions fueled by the pain stemming from the crack in his body. “Utopia! Beauty! Perfection! Light! Pretty!” Strings of words with no coherent connectors to form logical sentences spilled out of Galeem. 

The frenzied Lord of Light hovered in the center of the stage as his wings were raised in an arc below his glowing body. With a ring of a bell, two eyes each with the same colour scheme as Galeem’s body appeared, their pupils as thin as slits as they hovered away from Galeem’s body. Before Shulk or Pit could react accordingly, another peal of ringing bells shook the stratosphere, giant shockwaves shooting out from the giant eyes in the sky, spreading out across the stage, enveloping the stage in pure electrical energy. There was no time to dodge. 

The impact of the shockwave slammed into Shulk’s gut, almost like he was charged down by a whole herd of armus. He could hear his heart in his ears as he choked out a dark red liquid. He felt a burning pain, pure agony rising from his gut and spreading throughout his entire body as he fell to the ground with a loud, resounding crash. Toon rolled off his back in the force of the shockwave, tumbling hard onto the stage ground, scratches and bruises painting the young Hylian’s skin. Pit was no better as the angel was tossed into a mangled position, wings crushed under his weight, injuries opening and pouring with blood once more through the bandages applied prior. The light angel’s skin red and raw from his body being dragged along the rough surface of the stage in his fall.

The blooming pain in Shulk’s chest threatened to crush his ribs, and puncture his lungs through, though it might as well have happened. His head throbbed in pain, his vision spotted with black spots, swimming in and out of focus as he tried to find the strength in him to stand up. Another forced choke from his lungs as his heart lurched in response, regurgitating dark blood that stained the floor in front of his spotted vision. He needed to get up, the battle was not over. Yet no matter how hard he tried, the electricity that sparked through his veins, the numbing sensation that coursed through every muscle fiber in his body, it was all too much. He could not move. 

The mocking laughs of Galeems rang in his head, forcing and worming it’s way into Shulk’s mind, painful as it shook him to the very core of his being. His body shuddered in pain, heaving in aches and bruises as he drew in sharp laboured breaths. He could see stars of blue followed by gold flying across his spotted vision as he let his eyelids fall over his eyes. All he could see now was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus ends part 1 of the Galeem fight. Next part will be a double update with two separate chapters because the latter chapter is very short. So Chapters 11 and 12 will be up within a day or two.


	11. Galeem II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So did I ever mention that I am horrible at writing fighting scenes? Well you are going to hear me say it again, I am not good at writing fighting scenes. If you think about it, there are at least 2 more fights after this and well, yeah... I am not good at writing fighting scenes.

### Chapter 11: Galeem II

‘Is that all? You thought you could end it here? Naive. It does not end here.’ Golden flower brands bloomed right in front of Shulk’s eyes as he could feel his body lift itself from the ground. Shulk wanted to groan, to cry out in pain from the agony that rose up his chest, but he couldn’t move his mouth. Hell, he could not even move his own body, almost as if control of his body was snatched from him. He watched in dismay, distant and almost stranger to his own body as his body, like a spectator. It felt wrong, discomfort bubbling, boiling and spilling through his mouth even though he could not voice himself. ‘I won’t let you get in the way.’ He felt himself say suddenly. 

No matter how much he struggled, Shulk couldn’t shake off the feeling, he could not persuade his muscles to respond how he wanted. His mouth was saying things he didn’t want to say. What was going on? Shulk finally brought himself to raise his gaze to face forward. He watched through the back parts of his mind as his body walked up to Galeem, Replica in his hand, glowing with a stunning golden colour. He tried to recall what happened, he only remembered being knocked down by Galeem and then… and then… he could not pinpoint his own memory. Even his own name felt distant and difficult to wrap his head around, slipping from his grasp every time he tried to recall it. 

He watched through the lens of his eyes as the sword was brought up before him, glowing with a weird golden symbol that he could not seem to understand or grasp. It was a new symbol, a symbol that he could not remember, a symbol he just could not read. It aggravated him to no end. How distant he felt as he watched his body jump from platform to platform, brandishing the blade he held. Shulk could only blink in awe at how confident his body strode up to Galeem and pointed the golden blade at the Lord of Light. 

‘Shall I send you my regards early?’ Shulk heard himself say, the voice unbearably harsh and grating to his ears. But this was his own voice right? It can’t be… he would never talk like that. He tried again once more, wrestling for control over his own body. He screamed, he clawed at his own head from the depths of his mind as his body thrust the glowing golden blade into Galeem. 

“Wake up… WAKE UP!” Shulk’s vision swam back to him as his chest was hit with a wave of deep breaths and pain. A gasp and a cough escaping his lips as Shulk finally brought himself to pull the sword out of Galeem who proceeded to shriek in pain. “You… You. YOU! YOU! YOU!” Galeem screeched over and over again as his wings writhed in pain, twisting controting and twitching as the Lord of Light drew himself away from the arena stage. Shulk drew in a sharp breath as he fell back and landed hard on the ground with a loud thud. Replica fell to the ground with a clatter next to Shulk as Shulk hesitantly looked at the blade. It was still the same weapon he had made with his own hands. His own hands… Shulk looked at his hands and watched as they shook, shivered and quivered violently. 

That was all a dream. 

Wrenching his attention from his own body, Shulk ran up to Pit and Toon, checking them over as he bit his lips. They were both unconscious and he didn’t know how to wake them up to prepare for the next attack. Without much choice, Shulk once again swung Toon over his shoulder, fumbling with Toon’s hookshot to use its chain to tie Toon to his back securely before moving over to pick up Pit bridal style, since it was the only way he could hold the angel at the moment. Shulk staggered under the weight of his companions, concern written all over his face for how pained both Toon and Pit looked in their unconscious states, but he didn’t want to to think about it too much or he might hurl in his anxiety.

In a burst of light, the delusioned Lord of Light reappeared before Shulk’s eyes once more, blinding him momentarily as he began to spill words in no cohesive fashion. “You. You! Golden! Destroy! Never!”It still made no sense to Shulk, not that he was given time to comprehend Galeem’s ramblings when Galeem’s glistening metallic wings began to twist and shape into circles, forming what looked like a cannon. Shulk took a deep breath as he felt the ether rush into his legs. ‘Do you wish to evade it?’

“Speed!” Shulk called out, ether energy bursting into a bright blue burst around his feet as his left eyes shifted into a aqua blue colour. Leaving a trail of blue in his wake, Shulk ran across the stage just as Galeem shot a ball of burning orange energy. The energy ball homed in on Shulk, chasing him across the large stage as the visionary managed to outrun it but the stage did not go on forever. The edge of the stage soon stopped him dead in his tracks as Shulk whipped around to see the energy sphere, resembling that of a small sun hot on his heels. If forward no longer exists, then he will have to go up.

“Jump!” Another flash of green energy, lines on his skin radiating the same green glow as Shulk took to the air in a swift leap. Almost immediately he felt his legs weigh him down, as heavy as lead dragging him down, muscles screaming in agony. “Please last through this fight, body. Just this one time. Don’t let me down!” Shulk pleaded to himself as he landed on one platform and leapt to the next, the small sun unable to compete with his air speed before it seemed to slow down. Unable to catch the evading seer, Galeem let out a shrill yell and the small sun began to expand, glowing brighter and expanding into a giant explosion. Shulk’s jaw tensed up, sore from clenching his teeth too hard as he took the last strength in him to jump once more, barely avoiding the explosion before he felt his legs give out underneath him.

As he felt himself plummet towards the ground, Shulk squeezed his eyes shut, holding Pit closer to his body and tried to turn his body so he would land shoulder first. He could not land back first since Toon was on his back, and he was not about to perpetuate the injuries on the Waker of Winds. He felt something shift in his grip and Shulk opened his eyes to stare into Pit’s right blue eye which ignited with the flames of battle. With a cry of determination, Pit’s injured wings snapped out as he began to beat them hard trying to slow their descent. The injuries began to open again as dark stains ran down the angel’s white feathers, causing Pit to flinch in response.

“Pit-” Shulk began only to have Pit shush him. “Leave it to me!” Pit’s determination made Shulk shut his mouth as he nodded and leaned into Pit’s hold, giving all the decision making to the angel. “I am sorry Lady Palutena!” Pit apologised to the goddess he served as he flung his Guardian Orbitars under himself and Shulk. The bright mirror tinted in blue and yellow burst into existence beneath the falling heroes, allowing them to fall onto it, softening their landing. It only stopped them for a moment before the barrier began to crack. Grabbing Shulk and Toon, Pit leaped off the barrier just as the barrier shattered into a shower of blue dust. The guardian orbitars that Pit had floating beside him fell to the ground with a clatter, turning grey before disappearing. 

“Thank you for your service.” Pit acknowledged his broken weapon before turning to Shulk and Toon. Shulk hissed as he tried to make his legs move, but even the blue lines that decorated the seer’s legs were almost grey and dead, weak and almost numb. Pit helped to unhook Toon from Shulk as he allowed Shulk to take a breath and drink an ether potion. “Sorry that I was knocked out.” Pit’s regret was obvious no matter how hard the angel tried to hide it, but Shulk waved him off. “I don’t understand it myself, but I was knocked out too, something happened and then I woke up.” Shulk chose not to mention what happened to Pit, it all seemed too much like a dream and truth to be told, he did not want to waste the time explaining that to the light angel. “It’s not your fault.” Shulk reaffirmed as he could feel the strength slowly ebb into his legs. 

Toon began to stir at the moment as the young sailor groaned a little bit before hissing from the pain that stabbed his leg. Pit readjusted Toon on his back despite only having one arm to support the tiny hylian as he stood back up, Shulk soon followed. Just in time as Galeem’s wings formed circles with each other and suddenly from a portal of light fell blobs of blue light. Pit and Shulk held their breath as they faced back to back at the blobs of light that started to shift and shape into puppets. Puppets of blue light formed before them, Peach, Isabelle and another Pit. “You know, I never thought I would be fighting a copy of myself.” Pit commented as he felt Toon grip onto his shoulders, allowing the angel to focus on using his bow. Shulk snickered as he brought out Replica in front of him. “What about Dark Pit?”

“Pittoo - is different!” Pit broke his sentence in two as he slashed his Palutena bow in front of him, sending the Peach and Isabelle bow flying with one fell swoop. Shulk chuckled mildly as he stabbed the Pit puppet right in the gut and flung the puppet away. The puppets got back to their feet and tried to rush at the group once more which was only met with the same result being flung back once more. Though the puppets had no emotions to begin with, Pit could feel Galeem’s annoyance with the heroes crawl up his skin, making his hair stand on end and his feathers to fluff up. The puppets suddenly stood still and their blank looks staring into the horizon as their bodies began to heat up to an alarming degree, the air around them becoming stale and dry as Pit flinched back. “What’s going on?” 

With a fast flick of his arm, Toon picked up his boomerang and flung it at the puppets, making them tumble and fall atop each other before they all exploded into dust and light particles. Pit swallowed when he realised how close they were to that suicidal explosion. Giving a quick thumbs up to Toon, who wore a smug look on his face, Pit ran up to Shulk and they regrouped once more. “Galeem is starting to crack.” Shulk informed Pit as they watched the Lord of Light pop in and out of existence like he was having epilepsy. “Did you do something to him?” Pit muttered between grit teeth as they tried to keep their eyes on the Lord of Light, trying to pinpoint when he would stop to attack them.

“When I… when I managed to gather my consciousness together again, my blade had stabbed Galeem straight through and caused a few cracks in his body. I think if we can all attack in that same spot, we can bring him down.” Shulk flung out Replica as the blue energy blade burst forth once more. He couldn’t erase the image of the golden symbol on his weapon before but even that memory was hazy to him. “All aboard on that plan.” Pit agreed as Shulk nodded and relayed the message to Toon who gave him the same approval just as Galeem finally stopped moving about and hovered high in the sky once more with a snarl in his tone echoing. “Die. Die. Die! Let me have my utopia!” The delusioned Lord screeched as his wings formed into drill-like shapes once more.

Well aware of the damage those wings could do, Pit, with Toon on his back, split up from Shulk as they both rolled away to narrowly avoid the wings that stabbed straight through the stage. The holes that were formed were seared with burn marks around the edges of the holes, black and smoking from the friction between the stage and Galeem’s wings. As Galeem prepared another wave, Toon shot his hookshot from Pit’s back, drawing the angel at a breakneck pace towards the other side of the stage where Shulk was where they all nodded in unison. With a battlecry, they all leaped from platform to platform towards Galeem. Weapons gleaming in their grips, Replica, Master Sword and Palutena’s Bow with their sharpest edges pointed straight at Galeem’s body that was now unprotected since his wings were used to attack them prior. 

Galeem howled as he tried to move himself away from the heroes but without his wings to protect him or propel his body, the three warriors were able to catch up to him in no time. The cries of the three warriors as their weapons each sunk into the crack that was carved into Galeem by ‘Shulk’ before. The sharp edges of Replica, the Master Sword and the Palutena Bow sunk deeper and deeper into Galeem’s body, smoothly piercing through the Lord of Light’s body with a soft sound. Light and airy, the stab felt light and airy with how the weapons were met with little resistance when they struck Galeem. The light around their weapons seemed to sing and dance, doing a waltz in the air around them, illuminating their weapons with a soft gold. And then they all drew their weapons out of Galeem with a light sound of ringing bells. 

Landing gently on the battle-scarred stage, the group looked up, eyes heavy and weary as Galeem shook violently and began to burst and explode in golden dust clouds, wings twitching erratically as he began to fall out of the sky. They held in their breaths as the Lord of Light began to lose altitude in the sky. 

It was finally over. 

Or so they wished.

A resounding crack behind the group drew their attention instantly to the darkening skies above them. Cracks scattered across the stratosphere space before it shattered. From the darkness of the void behind the crack in the sky a singular eye stared at Galeem and the three warriors from the infinite black. The eye had a narrow pupil, thin as slits surrounded by a mancingly yellow iris and a pale blue sclera. Tentacles and tendrils of deep black wrapped in vein-like dark purple colours that ended with a sharp bright red tip soon burst from behind the giant eyeball in the sky, wrapping its death grip around the crack in space and drew open the tear in space larger and larger. The deep laugh that followed made the group cower together as the giant eyeball with black tendrils slithered out of the crack of darkness followed by an army of Crazy Hands. 

The shrill cry of Galeem filled the void as the Lord of Light bundled itself into a compressed ball of light energy and shot off into the sky, escaping just before those menacing tentacles was able to pin Galeem down like prey. The tentacles writhed in sheer annoyance before the eye focused upon the stage where the battle with Galeem had occurred. The eye seemed to suddenly chuckle. Drawing closer and closer to inspect the group, the eye pulsed with power as another low rumble and a mocking laugh echoed from the eye. “I am Dharkon. The embodiment of Chaos and Darkness. You will do well to remember my name, for this world will now be ruled by me. Thanks to your precious efforts, Galeem is weakened… and now… this world will belong to the darkness.” 

The group was frozen in shock and fear, the pressure of the darkness and the energy that Dharkon exuded was thick with malice, pushing them down onto their knees. Heavy weight upon their bodies, preventing them from moving, let alone breath properly. The air was stale, dry and felt painful to breathe in, every drawn breath laboured and shallow with how much the darkness burned into their lungs. Almost like inhaling pure liquid fire. Dharkon chuckled in satisfaction at the agony of the warriors beneath him before he hissed something particularly odd in a thick voice. 

“Not yet… it’s not that time yet… You are still asleep I see. I shall let you sink your roots further before I ask you once more. When I do see you again… let us join forces and destroy these foolish warriors.” Dharkon drawled, words laced with malice.

Before either member of the group could respond to that, Dharkon rose higher and higher into the sky, a black darkness beginning to spread across the vast stratosphere, clouds twisting into purple mist as the darkness overtook the light. A strong force suddenly wrenched the group off the stage and dragged them into the void that was opened up like a black hole. “Hang on!” Pit managed to choke out as he grabbed onto Shulk’s hand and felt Toon’s grip around his neck tighten. Pulling themselves closer to each other, the group braced themselves as they were sucked into the pitch black darkness of the crack in the sky. 

The darkness flooded their senses as the group felt themselves fall… fall into an endless darkness beneath them. Cold and numb as they felt their consciousness slip away and their eyes closed, heavy under their eyelids as the pitch black darkness overtook their senses. Numbing them all as the world got consumed by Dharkon’s whims and fancies.


	12. Golden Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight Xenoblade Spoilers Up Ahead and for the rest of this story.

### Chapter 12: Golden Intermission 

_‘I am sure you knew this by now, but light and darkness have always existed since the beginning of time. One cannot exist without the other. Much like the cycle of life and death. To perpetuate one’s existence, this cycle of life and death must continue.’_

_‘If there is a Galeem of Light, then there is a Dharkon of Darkness. Simple isn’t it? I made it as simple as I could for fools like you. It should be expected that they both came into existence at the very same time at the same place. After all, there can be no world with no gods. God is the one that decides how the world shall proceed onwards.’_

_‘Only a god can see the future they want.’_

* * *

_‘It was quite entertaining, seeing him wander through that world like a lost puppy. Almost disoriented when he was first ambushed. Of course, he can’t just die there, that would be a miserable tragedy waiting to unfold. So I simply pointed him in the right direction… How foolish, he just fell into the water like that to escape, such a dumb thing as I would expect from such mortals.’ _

_‘When he finally figured out how to use the Monado once more, I felt a certain satisfaction within me. Ahh… the time could not come any sooner, but not yet… patience. His body is still young and if I were to try, it would only make him implode. That would be ever so tragic.’_

_‘I watched him tinker and test. I felt his determination and his confidence to make himself a weapon. I smugly supported him when he finally completed that ‘Monado’. It is not the real Monado but as a replacement for now? I would accept that, for it was usable and he was ever so careful with the details. To at least have something to defend himself is beneficial for me.’ _

_‘I watched him fight, evade and meet up with that green midget. Toon, I think he called him, but I will call him Midget just because he is one. So small under my foot, if I could, I would crush him under my heels and make him grovel in my splendour. Not yet though.’ _

_‘To remember the fight with that blasted Wyvern, such a miserable display from him. All he could do was run around and get a few spare hits in before his body broke down. Still too young, perhaps he needs more time. Well time is what he got when the midget put an end to that Wyvern. Good riddance, that midget finally put himself to use. Perhaps I should actively force his body to absorb ether more efficiently.’_

_‘When they met up with that… angel. They called him Pit but I will stick to Idiot. They met up with Idiot and had a heartfelt talk that almost made me puke with how sappy it was, not that I cared about it, I was way too busy modifying his body to fit my needs for the future. I can see it after all, that fight with Galeem. His current state would not cut it, so I just… adjusted it slightly.’_

_‘I could care less about the Midget freezing on that mountain so long as he was alive. They just had to fuss over that fairy-boy for so long in that sorry excuse of a cave even after the last barrier on Galeem finally shattered. Perhaps it was fate that the bird-brain managed to show up and save them from wasting more time. The sooner they get to Galeem, the faster I can finally test out this new body.’_

_‘The fight with Galeem would have started out quite badly if I hadn’t given him that warning in advance. Oh dear… it seems like the poor vessel can’t take the visions very well with these new modifications I did. No matter, it will soon be mine anyways, perhaps now will be a good time to test it since he is out for the count.’_

_‘Hmm… this body still isn’t quite up to form yet. Perhaps a bit more modification and adjustments are necessary. While I am here… why not test it?’_

* * *

_‘Is that all? You thought you could end it here? Naive. It does not end here.’_

Galeem’s bright gaze seared my vessel’s skin and I could feel the heat of the Light God’s anger. A mortal body is so susceptible to injury, I should take note for the future. I could hear the Light God’s grating words upon my vessel’s ears. “You… How can this be? I thought I got rid of you!” 

I chose not to answer him. He doesn't deserve my answer, he hasn’t earned the permission to ask me a question let alone demand me to answer his query. Why, he had made this body almost unusable with how carelessly he threw around those attacks. _‘I won’t let you get in the way.’_

I allowed the blade to dance in the colour I desired, a perfect golden colour to represent my splendour. _‘Shall I send you my regards early?’_ I heard his high pitched screeches as he tried to escape. Such a foolish god, almost as foolish as her. So quick to think he can escape from my divinity. The blade that he made will be more than enough to support this strike. 

I watched the golden blade bend to my will and I felt the mortal rush of energy as I leaped at this disappointment of a God. The pure bliss that flooded my senses when the blade stabbed straight through his heart. Oh if only I could feel this sensation more! Alas I can feel that this body is still not ready yet. I can hear him knocking from the back of my head like a little annoying gnat trying to worm his way back into control.

He wins this time, only because if I tried to push this body further, it would only crumble beneath my power. I will wait awhile more before I will wake again.

* * *

_‘So… his name is Dharkon and he seems to know me quite well. It's quite amusing to think that someone would finally acknowledge my strength. To be able to scare Galeem off like that, perhaps he will be useful to my re-awakening. Perhaps the promised time shall come soon.’_

_‘In that World of Darkness.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will be a Pit focused chapter and we finally get to meet everyone's favourite Hot Topic Angel, Edgy Pit.


	13. Crossroads of Darkness

### Chapter 13: Crossroads of Darkness

“I told you the mirror would come in handy!”

Dream visions… again… 

“I am fine! It’s just a scratch it will heal soon - urgh!” 

Are you… hurt? Where are you hurt?

“You guys are insane! There is a rampaging beast over there! You will get yourselves killed!”

That's… a new voice. A rampaging beast?

‘This melody… it brings back memories…’

What a soothing tune…

‘I only caught glimpses of him. Sometimes he will become one with the shadow and chase us around. Sometimes he will create black holes just to mess with us.’

Shadow… Black Holes… Darkness-

“I am not the one you once knew. Stop calling me by that blasted name.”

The darkness! I - We fell into the darkness and… and…

“My name is - ”

Toon? Pit? Answer me!

“I cannot wait to watch this world burn.”

The smell of burning… that rotten smell of ash… Stop… STOP! LEAVE THEM ALONE! 

“Mrrowww?”

GET OFF ME!

“MRRREEEOOOOWW!”

I… I....

“SHULK!”

* * *

“Shulk! Pull yourself together! Wake up!” The light angel furiously shook the unconscious visionary, putting his ear to Shuk’s chest to listen to his breathing and heartbeat before proceeding to pour more ether potions down Shulk’s throat. The pale blue liquid trickled down the Hom’s throat without resistance but Shulk still didn’t open his eyes, his arms twitching and swatting away at the air in front of him frantically in his unconscious delusions. Pit bit his lip, trying his best to keep Shulk from moving as he continued to force more ether restoration formula into Shulk’s system. He was at his third bottle and he still couldn’t get Shulk to wake up, it was going beyond concern. Large beads of sweat began to form on the light’s angel’s forehead, damping his bangs and making his hair stick to his face as he tried over and over again, shouting and even shaking the Seer more violently, as violently as he could without aggravating the injuries. 

“Is he not awake?” Came the soft female voice that echoed across the campsite. Pit took in a deep breath and shook his head, refusing to face the owner of the voice. “No, he is still unconscious. He has never been in a sleeping coma for so long when he was with us before!” Pit let his head fall into his right hand, the angel shaking and shivering in fear and worry for the visionary that lay on the soft sheets spread out under him. “Mrrowww…” Came the pained mews of a cat. 

Pit turned around to see the orange and black feline hiding behind the female warrior and he shook his head in response. “I am sorry Incine- I mean Torracat. I am sure Shulk didn’t mean it. He is stuck in a state of delusions in his dream.” The female warrior made a shushing sound across the campsite as she held onto the sleeping Hylian child in her lap. The fire crackled in front of her as she faced it, her eyes closed shut and covered by a blue butterfly mask. With long blue hair and armour that suited her role, the Parallel Falchion in its sheath leaned against the log she sat upon. Lucina raised her head and looked beyond, without facing Pit she spoke once more in a soft voice. “I am sure Torracat understands. He is just worried for Shulk too. You are not the only one, Pit.” 

She ran a hand gingerly through Toon’s bright yellow hair with a sigh. “Poor Toon cried himself to sleep. That battle must have been hard on all three of you. I am sorry I left you to the wound dressing, I wish I could help. I really do.” Pit wiped the sweat off his forehead before placing his right palm on Shulk’s chest once more, the laboured breaths from the visionary were deafening to the angel. “It’s alright Lucina. You already gave us half your medical provisions to clean our wounds. You don’t have to push yourself any further.” Sitting on the ground next to Shulk, Pit overlooked the small island that the makeshift campsite was set up on. 

It was nothing more than a tiny island that had three rickety wooden bridges connected to it that allowed passage into three larger landmasses. All those landmasses, including the small island Pit’s group was currently on, were floating in mid-air above a deep dark void that stretched far out of their sight. Dark purple crystals jutted out from the ground on the island they took refuge on, each surface gleaming with a cruel purple colour as the faint light from the hole high above their heads bounced off their glittering surfaces. 

A long resounding sigh escaped Lucina’s lips as she cuddled Toon closer, being extra careful with her movements, feeling her way gently around the Sailor to make sure she did not touch his leg before holding him in a hug. “I am sorry, it's just a little frustrating to be unable to do anything to help you guys. Torracat has been helping me see this entire time and would let me know if anything is coming our way.” The response from Torracat was to further solidify Lucina’s words as the fire cat pokemon curled up next to Lucina, the bell-like flame sac on its neck glowing with a steady orange light, providing a gentle warmth to Lucina. Popping the cork off another ether potion vial, Pit began to tip the fourth bottle into Shulk’s mouth. 

“Don’t be sorry.” Pit assured Lucina. “It's not your fault, it's all that damn Galeem-Dharkon or whatever, the both of them! You said the Dark Realm has not been easy to get through all this time but you are still here! It must be because of your awesome teamwork with Torracat! So you must not lose hope and keep fighting.” Lucina raised her head up, trying to turn her head to face Pit but obviously missing him by a slight angle as she nodded gingerly. “Thank you Pit.” Torracat too seemed happy that Lucina’s mood was uplifted as he purred and nuzzled Lucina’s arm. 

The choked gasps and coughs soon snatched Pit’s attention back to the Visionary who finally showed some signs of life. Shulk’s body twitched slightly, the lines on his skin glitching slightly with his discomfort before his eyes opened up, their bright turquoise colour shimmering with a slight sheen of tears as Shulk held a shivering arm to his forehead and groaned. Pit let out a breath as Shulk finally found the strength to sit up. “P-Pit-” Pit did not allow Shulk to finish his sentence before the angel wrapped his arm around Shulk. 

“Oh thank the goddesses! Thank Lady Palutena. Thank Viridi, you are awake. I thought you would never wake up.” Pit cried as he began to soak Shulk’s clothes and the bandage on his left eye with tears. Pit could feel his shoulder muscles relax in relief, the void in his stomach finally disappearing and the heavy pressure that weighed around his emotions lifted all at once. His heart could not hold back the tears as he sobbed straight into Shulk’s shoulder. The shell-shocked Seer was a bit disoriented at first but finally came around, rubbing Pit’s back carefully to not touch the bandages on the angel’s wings. 

“So Shulk is awake? That’s a relief to hear.” Came Lucina’s voice from beside the campfire. Shulk looked up from his embrace with the angel to see Lucina staring a little off from where they were and Pit immediately released his grip on Shulk, wiping his tears to put on his goofy smile once more. “Yeah, he is finally awake.” He replied to Lucina who smiled sweetly upon hearing the good news. “That is great to hear Pit.” Lucina slightly shook Toon, allowing the groggy sailor to open his wide eyes for a moment, staring at Lucina’s mask that covered her eyes. “He is awake now.” 

Toon did not need more prompting before the tiny hero jumped out of Lucina’s lap, stumbling over the splint on his leg before he wobbled his way over to Shulk and collapsed in a group hug with Pit and Shulk. Pit pulled all three of them into a tighter warm hug, soothing each other with their presence and their companionship. It went on for a while, the silent group hug perpetuating through the campsite. Pit could smell the faint aroma of ether in Shulk’s clothes and he could feel the sting of sea salt in Toon’s hair, his eyes pricking with tears at these warm smells, the smell that had survived the darkness onslaught. Burying his face further into their smells, Pit held back his tears and choked back his cries. He could feel Toon shivering under him, the small conductor was not holding back with how much tears were falling like a waterfall from Toon’s eyes. Shulk was a lot more reserved but he could feel Shulk’s gentle grasp in turn. 

With soft mews, Torracat slowly nudged Lucina across the campsite, directing Lucina towards the group where she too was dragged into the hug for a while. A few more silent moments spent hugging before they all released each other, collapsing on the group with short bursts of laughter amongst them before they all settled back down around the campsite. Torracat slowly guided Lucina back to sit on the log directly next to the campfire before settling down comfortably in Lucina’s lap, allowing the swordswoman to pet him, Torracat’s purrs echoing across the campsite. Pit helped to support Shulk by the shoulder as he dragged the sheets that Shulk had rested on closer to the campfire and directed Shulk to sit on them.

Toon climbed onto another log across the campfire from Lucina and Pit took a seat next to the sailor. As Toon searched through their rations to check what they should eat, Pit decided to fill in Shulk on the details. “After we got sucked into the Dark Realm by that black hole, Lucina found us, or well Torracat did and then Lucina helped to drag us to this small island that has been her camp for quite sometime now. I was the first to wake up and I helped to dress all our wounds, the medical kit courtesy of Lucina.” Pit gestured vaguely at Lucina who only nodded slightly with a weak smile. “How long was I out for?” Shulk inquired, finally finding some semblance of voice in his throat to speak. 

“About an hour since I woke up, give or take.” Pit informed him as Toon took out a few strips of beef jerky and began to distribute it to everyone, hopping on one leg to get around the campsite. Thanking Toon for the jerky, Pit continued on with the tale. “I helped to dress up Toon’s wounds so his leg should be fully healed and functional after a day of rest. Torracat helped to find a fairy which we used to heal the hole in Toon’s leg, so it's whole now, but it seems like it still hurts a little.” Pit gazed at Toon briefly for a moment who sat down on the log once more to chew on his serving of beef jerky. 

“Pause.” Shulk interrupted Pit briefly as he looked over at Lucina and Torracat, his turquoise eyes gleaming with sympathy. “So Torracat is… Incineroar?” Lucina raised her head a little before she spoke. “Yes Torracat is Incineroar’s previous evolutionary form. It seems that Galeem made him de-evolve. Though I am pretty sure Red told me before that Pokemon cannot revert back to a previous evolution… so that must be something only Galeem can do.” Lucina explained as Pit chimed in with his own suggestion. “And possibly Dharkon as well!” 

Lucina chuckled slightly at Pit’s statement before she continued. “Torracat may be weaker in this form but he is still strong enough to guide me through the Dark Realm. He has been my eyes ever since we met each other here in this Realm.” Lucina chuckled weakly as she reached to her face to remove her butterfly mask, Shulk visibly holding back a gasp at Lucina’s eyes. Her eyes were known to be pretty blue with the mark of the exalt in her left eye, but instead of the once gentle bright blue, her eyes were grey, void of any vibrant colour and the mark of the exalt was an equally dull black in colour. Replacing her mask back on her face, Lucina breathed out deeply. “Torracat has been a good companion and a great teammate for me. He knows when danger is coming and will inform me on where they come from. It's almost like we have a super secret special bond from all the time we spent together.” Lucina laughed as she stroked Torracat’s back, the Fire Cat rearing up to lick her gently on her face. 

“I am… so sorry for your loss.” Shulk managed to mutter out before Lucina waved him off. “Don’t be. It's not your fault so you should not be the one apologising. It’s just a little awkward explaining this, after all I have only met Torracat and a lot of puppets in this realm.” Shulk pondered on what Lucina said for a moment before he lowered his head in deep thought. “So you have been stuck in this realm since we all were consumed by the light…” 

“Pretty much.” The answer from the swordswoman came almost immediately as Pit frowned, he took a break from interpreting for Toon to ask his own slew of questions. “Does that mean this realm always existed from the start?” Lucina bit her lip, not knowing the answer. 

“If there is a Galeem of Light, then there is a Dharkon of Darkness…” Shulk suddenly said, his eyes distant in his thoughts as the group barring Toon looked at him oddly. “ They both came into existence at the very same time at the same place, so it is only natural that while Galeem had a World of Light… Dharkon has a Dark Realm in turn…” Shulk paused and quickly shook his head and looked back up at the dumbfounded warriors before him. Blushing sheepishly, Shulk tried to wave it off as him talking off the top of his head but Lucina and Pit agreed to his statement. “That’s awesome Shulk! It sounds like you knew all this!” Pit cried out with a wide smile. 

“You definitely are smart as everyone says you are. It’s no wonder Pit is lucky to have you around.” Lucina complemented the seer as Shulk hid his flushed red face from them with a slight gesture. “It just popped into my head all of a sudden. Nothing special.” 

“So the reason why I never heard about the World of Light or Galeem was because I and by extension Torracat also never really was in the World of Light and we were in Dharkon’s realm this entire time. And here I thought it was because Galeem became edgy after defeating us.” Shulk and Pit withheld their laughter, which only earned confused scrunched up looks from Toon who didn’t know what they were talking about. “Speaking of edgy…” Pit mused as a lightbulb went inside his head. 

Dark Pit.

“I need to find Pittoo! Pittoo told me he was in a dark place so which means that he probably has been stuck in the Dark Realm from the start!” Pit concluded as he jumped to his feet in realization. “I need to find him!” Lucina tapped her chin in deep consideration. “Dark Pit? I haven’t met or heard of him while I was here. I only ever met Torracat while I was here in the Dark Realm but from what Torracat and I managed to find, we were able to discern there are three areas that can be accessed from this small island.” 

“So there is an area with a very distorted world.” Lucina informed them while Torracat mewed and pointed towards the north to help supplement the direction of the area. “Also a place with a giant castle.” Torracat nodded towards the east. “And finally a place like a grove. If you are asking me how I know, right behind us is a small signboard that dictates what area is what. I just ran my hands over the words to read it.” Torracat purred as he pointed them towards the west for the last area before rubbing his face against Lucina’s arm once more. 

Picking up the fire cat into her lap, Lucina coughed slightly. “You say you want to find Dark Pit, so he is probably in one of those areas. I haven’t been able to go and explore those areas very much because I have been clearing out the puppets around this area. You will probably have to go through all three areas to find him.” Frowning, Pit put his fingers on his chin and touched the bandage around his left eye with a short gasp. Of course! How could he have forgetten?

“I think there is a way I can ask Pittoo where he is!” He exclaimed as he jumped up in glee, earning the concerned looks and attention from all his comrades. “I can just communicate with him with our eyes.” Lucina looked like she wanted to ask but Shulk stopped her with a “I will explain.” Allowing Pit to focus on doing what he needed to do. 

Reaching into his satchel, Pit excused himself from the group and picked out the mirror he had taken from the Great Fox. The silver mirror gleaming in the faint light shining from the tear in the sky above him as Pit slowly unwound the bandage around his left eye. Making sure everything was alright and that he was facing the mirror, Pit closed his blue right eye and opened his left. Pit’s left eye was a brilliant crimson red in colour, sharp and vibrant, which did not mesh well with his bright and light angelic appearance. Pit looked into the mirror but all he could see was black, but he moved his mouth anyway, as if talking to the darkness. “Hey Pittoo! Can you see me? I need to talk to you?” 

Pit continued to see darkness, a void of black for a moment before a flicker of light began to illuminate his vision. It was weird not being able to control what he saw, but such was how it had to be as he gazed through his distant missing eye. Staring straight at him was the sharp glare from another angel with the same face as Pit’s, but only with 110% more scowl and with dark hair instead. Dark Pit’s reflection on the water source he was using as a mirror was shaking a little but it would do for the time being as the dark angel’s blue right eye stared deep into the reflection. 

They can see what the other sees from the eye that does not belong to them. And now it was all a matter of lip reading. 

“Hey Pittoo! I am sorry for suddenly contacting you like this, I hope I did not distract you from a fight.” Pit said to his mirror, which he could not see, but he could see Dark Pit’s face twist into a silent scowl as the darker angel began to speak and Pit started lip reading. “You nearly got me killed Pit-stain, I was fighting off a puppet and then your fucking idiot ass had to suddenly mess with my vision like that. What is it?” 

Pit chuckled to himself lightly before regaining his composure to speak again. “I am sorry, but I managed to make it to the Dark Realm! Where are you? I am coming to find you!” Pit saw Dark Pit bite his lip and for the dark angel to shake his head. “Don’t come to me Pit-stain. It’s far too dangerous for you, if you die here because you came to find me then we will both die! Or did you forget that we are connected?” 

Pit furrowed his brow as he continued to talk. “What are you talking about Pittoo? If you are struggling with a really strong enemy then I will come and help you defeat it! I have Shulk and Toon Link backing me up, together we can conquer anything! We just conquered Galeem!” Pit watched as Dark Pit’s face immediately shifted to that of pure shock and Shulk smirked at his victory but still the dark angel shook his head. “Forget it Pit-stain. No matter what, you will not come and find me and that’s final! I do not need your help!” 

Pit wanted to protest but from the look on Dark Pit’s face, he knew that Dark Pit absolutely refused to tell him where he was, so Pit had to take a different approach. Using the limited vision from the reflection of Dark Pit in the water surface, Pit strained to find a clue on Dark Pit’s surroundings. Just as Dark Pit closed his eye, Pit spotted on the very edge of his vision, the tall spire of a castle. And then darkness. 

Scowling, Pit opened his right blue eye and closed his left red one, making sure the bandage was wound around his left eye tightly once more before he stored his mirror in his satchel and returned to the campsite. He made it back in time to hear Shulk finish telling Lucina about the fight with Galeem and to witness Toon playing with Torracat, playing with the fire cat’s tail as it swayed back and forth. The return of the angel caught their attention as they stopped what they were doing to listen to what Pit managed to gather. Taking a seat, Pit looked at Lucina. “Lucina, you said there is a castle in one of the areas right?” Lucina nodded. “Yes there is one. The signboard I ran my fingers over had the words ‘Dracula’s Castle’ carved into one of the directions it pointed to. Torracat will let you know the direction. Why? Did you figure out where Dark Pit is?” 

Pit rubbed the back of his head. “Well not exactly. Pittoo refused to tell me where he was and kept telling me not to find him. But I know he needs help when I see him! Plus it will just be better for the two of us to be together. I managed to catch a glimpse of his surroundings just before he cut off our means of communication. I saw a giant castle spire behind him.” Lucina nodded. “Then he is probably at Dracula’s Castle. No mistake on that. I don’t think you will find a castle in the other areas. Right Torracat?” The resounding meows from the Pokemon solidified Lucina’s answer. 

“Thank you Lucina.” Pit thanked with a wide smile as he looked at Shulk with a grin and stuck out a tongue at the visionary with a cocky “I told you the mirror would come in handy!”. Shulk could only sigh, hanging his head in defeat. “Alright.” The Homs smiled. “We will go to Dracula’s Castle to find Dark Pit. We did say we were going to find him after all. Though we should wait for Toon to finish healing before we go-” Shulk’s words were cut off by Toon making a grunting sound. The young sailor stuck out a tongue at Shulk and stood up on his leg, flinching a little bit but shaking it to show he was fine. ‘It just stings a little bit but I can move. We can go now!’ 

Shulk stared at Toon with deep concern but the sailor continued to be stubborn, gesturing to express his insistence on leaving for Dracula’s Castle immediately. ‘We need to get Pit to Dark Pit. We promised!’ Shulk let his head fall into his hands as he let out a groan of defeat as Lucina chuckled, more or less understanding the situation from context clues. “It’s your lost Shulk.” She teased as Shulk ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “Unfortunately.”

Chuckling slightly, Lucina leaned back a little as Torracat jumped off her lap. “I will probably head to the Sacred Grove with Torracat once we finish clearing all the puppets in the area. So this is where we part ways.” Lucina slowly stood up as Torracat walked between her legs, drawing figure eights. “Good luck to you three. I hope you find Dark Pit soon. Torracat will you show them the direction to the bridge?” With a happy meow, Torracat leaped out towards the eastern direction and pointed a paw at the rickety wooden bridge that connected to a giant landmass which seemed to be made out of giant golden gears. 

Thanking Torracat with a piece of dried fish, the group turned to thank Lucina. “Thank you Lucina! Please take care of yourself!” Pit called out to the swordswoman who waved at them, facing them in the right direction this time as she smiled. Pit knew she would not be able to see him, but he made the effort to wave back before he helped put Toon on Shulk’s back before they crossed the shaky wooden bridge towards the eastern side of the Dark realm.

* * *

Squinting through the mist that surrounded the area, Pit finally spotted a column of purple light on the horizon beyond another gear-like landmark. Clicking his tongue, Pit surveyed the environment before him from his vantage point, memorizing the map and formulating a pathway through the chaotic landscape before them to make their journey to reach the portal to Dracula’s Castle easier. After making sure he got a solid foundation on their whereabouts and the direction they needed to head towards, Pit jumped down from the small mountain of scrap metal. He opened his one good right wing behind him, flapping it hard to help slow his descent down the giant scrap pile. 

With a heavy thud and a slight flinch from the impact on his legs, Pit landed on the ground and folded his wings behind his back nicely. It felt weird to him, usually he would be ever so free to fly using the Power of Flight in the Smash Realm but without Palutena of Viridi, he could no longer fly as he wanted. As Pit ran across the land made of giant golden gears, his mind could not help but wander back to Palutena. Pit bit his lip as the memories of what happened on the day when the sky fell away and Galeem appeared resurfaced in his head.

* * *

“Pit! Dark Pit!” The call of his name from Palutena made Pit turn to face her, Palutena’s emerald eyes sparkled filled with dread and concern. Pit sucked in a breath and quickly made his way to Palutena, kneeling on his knees before her and lowering his head. He could hear Galeem’s mocking laughs behind him and the tension rising around the cliff-side where all the warriors across the multiverse were ready to stand their ground. “Yes Lady Palutena?” Pit choked out as Dark Pit stood next to him, without showing much respect to the Goddess. 

“I am going to send the two away now. I will fly you out as much as I can while I try to hold back Galeem.” Pit’s eyes widened as he sharply raised his head to face Palutena, fear and shock written clear in the light angel’s aquamarine eyes. “L-Lady Palutena, it should be the other way around! We should be the ones protecting you from Galeem!” Pit could not hear Dark Pit, but from the body language of the darker angel next to him, he could tell that Dark Pit was also heavily against Palutena’s notion. 

Yet Palutena shook her head, verdant green hair swaying behind her as she lifted her staff, lighting both of the angel’s wings with the power of flight. As she slowly angled her staff up, the two angels began to take flight, both of them wrestling against the power granted to them to return to Palutena. “LADY PALUTENA!” Pit screamed out as Palutena looked up at the two struggling angels with tears forming out of the corner of her eye, glistening and viridescent. 

“Go now! And don’t look back!” She ordered as she set the two angels to fly. “If I can at least save the two of you, my legacy will not be lost. After all…” She closed her eyes with a weak smile, tears streaming from her face. “I cannot bear to lose the angels I love so much.”

Pit let out a strangled scream as his wings shot him away from the cliff-side. He wanted to claw his wings off his back, to return to Lady Palutena. It wasn’t fair, he was the captain of her guard and it was his job to protect her not the other way around. His heart wanted to burst out of his chest and he could feel the bile rise up his throat, yet no matter how much he tried, he could not fight against the power that shot him across the sky like a bullet. The screams that left his throat soon cut off by Dark Pit. 

“Don’t cry Pit-stain!” Dark Pit strained and choked out. “If you do, her efforts will be futile!” He hissed between clenched teeth, looking away from Pit as he tried to console his lighter counterpart. Pit looked over at Dark Pit, eyes red and swollen from crying as Dark Pit shook his head. “She is doing this because she wants to protect us, the least you can do is respect what she wants us to do.” Straining himself, Dark Pit reached out and grabbed Pit by the scarf, dragging him towards the darker angel as Dark Pit forced Pit to look him in the eye. Blue and red eyes locked into one another, both glistening and shimmering with tears as Dark Pit bellowed out. “Don’t let her efforts be in vain!” 

Pit felt his throat go sore and dry with his breathing, his lungs crushed under the tension and his guilt and that bubbled deep within his heart. “Pittoo - Lady Palutena - I… I” He wanted to speak, to tell Dark Pit that it wasn’t fair. He was but an angel to serve Palutena and sacrifice himself for her but he knew Pittoo and Palutena were right. She did it for them because she didn’t want to lose them, even if it meant sacrificing herself. But it was unfair… Why was he left to survive this long? 

He didn’t have to dwell on it longer before the power in his wings glimmered and stuttered, dropping him from its grasp as the light consumed both him and Dark Pit, screams echoing across the skies.

* * *

Pit absentmindedly kicked away a giant sheet of metal that was in his path as he continued to make his way back to Shulk and Toon, his mind wandering between the past and present as he fluffed his feathers behind him. Holding a hand over the bandage on his left, Pit sighed and looked up at the dark sky above him. Purple clouds swirling like whirlpools in the vast sky dyed black, the only sources of light were the multi-coloured crystals that jutted out of the earth around him. In the end, Pit still could not forgive for leaving Palutena behind like that and the guilt was stabbing him in the heart. 

He still did not know where she was. But he prayed that she was still alright, she was the Goddess of Light after all! She had to be alright.

Slapping himself, Pit shook his head. He had to focus on finding Dark Pit for now. Palutena would want him to work with Shulk, Toon and Dark Pit to fight against this incarnation of chaos. He just had the feeling. Hurrying his steps, Pit opened his wings to give him a little boost as he raced back towards the small little rocky outcrop where the group had stopped to take a break. 

Pit turned the corner and waved at Shulk who smiled at the angel with a simple ‘Welcome back’ as he finished unwinding the bandages from Toon’s leg. The leg was healed, mostly, save for a small scar that was left from where Toon was shot through the leg. The little Hylian grinned cheekily as he jumped to his feet and hopped around to test his legs before smiling and giggling to himself, doing a few cartwheels and a few jumping jacks as Pit and Shulk watched with utmost relief. 

“So it's healed?” Pit raised his right eye at Shulk who nodded, the lines on the seer’s body were lighting faintly with a happy rhythm. “Yeah, it seems like a little more rest was all he needed.” Shulk confirmed as he leaned forward and stood up slowly. “Did you manage to figure out a path to the portal?” 

Pit nodded and gave Shulk a thumbs up. “I found the best route to the portal. So it won’t take us too long. Thankfully Lucina cleared out a lot of the puppets on this side of the Dark Realm so we don’t have any resistance in our way, we can just continue towards the portal, no sweat!” Shulk seemed satisfied as he picked up his gear and weapons, gesturing to Toon to tell the little Hylian that it was time to set off once more. With a jump of glee, the tiny child ran up and picked up his own weapons and flashed a smirk, ready to go. 

“Lead the way Pit.” And Pit smiled as he waved his right arm in a wild gesture as he brought them through the landscape. Soon, the large column of purple light blinded their eyes when they drew close, Pit wary about getting close to the portal as Shulk scanned his surroundings to make sure there were no puppets to ambush them. Toon on the other hand was looking at the portal, brimming with childlike curiosity in his eyes. After confirming that there were no puppets in the area, Shulk turned to Pit and gave him the signal as the angel swallowed a hard lump in his throat and faced Toon and Shulk. 

‘No matter what comes, we will save Pittoo and then we will fight the boss of the area. We will do this. Together.’ Pit signed, receiving smiles of affirmation and confidence from Shulk and Toon respectively before they all raised their hands towards the portal, walking into the bright light that engulfed them in a flood of purple light.

* * *

Pit blinked away the light that blinded him as he rubbed his right eye with his fingers before roughly blinking them to regain his vision. High in the night sky cloaked and covered in the mist and dark rumbling clouds was a crescent moon whose bright silver rays rained down upon the castle that spread out vast before them. Crumbling walls and ruined roofs, vines hanging down from every archway and weeds crawling up the bricks that composed the castle’s structure. The howling of wind as it raced through the ruined hallways of the castle sent a chill up Pit’s back as he could feel his feathers puff up behind him. 

Smoothing it down by awkwardly twisting his right arm, Pit turned to face Toon who was helping Shulk recover from the shift in the space. Seems like Shulk still could not get used to changing environments like that, maybe that was something unique to Shulk since Toon seemed completely fine. Shrugging it off as perhaps a personal condition Shulk had, Pit turned towards the large door that was the entrance into Dracula’s Castle. With a large creak, Pit opened the door, Toon and Shulk following directly behind him. 

Dimly lit chandeliers hung down from the victorian styled interior that the castle had, complete with winding staircases to higher floors, red velvet curtains that were now worn and torn from age as well as ancient portraits of what seemed like a line of old people. Not that Pit cared to distinguish them any further than that. The stairs were cracked and looked like they would break if too many people tried to climb it at once and they led to higher floors which had windows that were cracked and shattered in multiple places. The sudden flash of light from the outside accompanied by the rumbling of lightning only served to make Pit ever more cautious. 

Gesturing to Shulk and Toon, they slowly walked into the main hall of the castle. “Ok guys… we just have to find Pittoo and then we beat up the big bad guy of this area and we will be able to make it one step closer to defeating Dharkon.” Pit reminded the group as Toon shot Pit the ‘obviously’ look. Pit laughed at Toon’s sarcasm before he froze. There was a slight rumbling from the floor right above them and he could hear the heavy footsteps on the ground. Shulk heard it too as the seer immediately drew his weapon, the bright energy blade bursting out as he held it in front of him. Toon spotted the vibrations on the ceiling and made sure he had his shield to protect him as Pit backed away from the stairs to regroup. A few tense seconds past before a crack was heard. 

Looking up, dust began to fall from the ceiling until- 

**CRASH!**

Tumbling through the ceiling came a dark bundle of feathers in black garb. With untamable black hair that barely hid a golden laurel crown, a black chiton and downy black feathered wings, the figure shook his head with a loud groan and hiss of pain before noticing the group that had witnessed his fall from grace. A face that looked just like Pit stared back at the group in undeniable shock, the only thing different was a singular crimson left eye. 

“Pittoo!” Pit gasped out as he ran towards Dark Pit trying to look over the darker angel for injuries. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What is going on?” Dark Pit took a few silent seconds to comprehend what just happened before his face twisted back into a scowl and he tried to push Pit off him. “I told you not to come here! Idiots! It’s dangerous here!” He hissed out before pushing the clingy lighter counterpart of his off. Struggling to his feet, Pit did not let Dark Pit continue. 

“Pittoo stop moving! Your wing is injured! It's bleeding really badly!” Pit insisted, gesturing to Shulk and Toon to help. Dark Pit swatted Pit’s hand away with a snarl, “I am fine! It’s just a scratch it will heal soon - urgh!” The dark angel doubled over, awkwardly trying to grasp at his injured left wing which upon closer inspection was an even darker black colour due to the blood soaking through the feathers. Shulk bit his lip and Toon was firm in holding down the dark angel’s legs from squirming or running away. 

“No you are not fine.” Pit insisted as Shulk followed up with a nod. “Pit is right. You are in no condition to fight right now, your wings have a large gash in them and it seems like the rest of your body is no different. We are treating you right now.” Shulk nodded at Toon who smirked with a cheeky grin. The little sailor reached for his hookshot and extended its chain, wrapping the chain around Dark Pit securely to prevent the angel from running away. Despite Dark Pit’s loud protests, the group worked swiftly to make sure Dark Pit could not run or refuse their help, tying him up before allowing Pit to carry his darker mirror image on his shoulder as they ran up the stairway to find a place to treat Dark Pit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not going to lie... other than the main 5 (Shulk, Toon Link, Pit, Dark Pit and Corrin), I don't really have very solid ideas for the rest of the Smash Bros Cast. Characters like Lucina and the Pokemon are easy for me to decide their sacrifice/curse but there are 70 characters and I really don't know how to tailor a sacrifice unique to each one of them. 
> 
> If you were observant, you would have noticed I did not go in depth or mention the Ice Climber's sacrifice or curse, and that is mainly because I didn't know what to do for them, so I just played it off as well as I could.
> 
> So here is a tiny challenge or favour from me, if you can think of a proper sacrifice/curse for characters you would like to see me cover, comment your idea and I will most likely have them appear in a chapter in the future. Mostly because well, the plan isn't always to focus on these 5. Yes Corrin will come eventually, patience... Patience...


	14. Dark Pit's Guidance: Sea of Red and Blue with a Side of Coffee

### Chapter 14: Dark Pit’s Guidance: Sea of Red and Blue with a Side of Coffee

“Does it still hurt?” Shulk asked as he drew himself away from the dark angel after applying the last bits of bandages and wrapping to Dark Pit’s arm. Dark Pit hissed a little, shooting a sharp red glare at Shulk before huffing and turning away. “Not as much anymore. It’s much better than before you treated it.” The dark angel scowled to himself, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth before he muttered a very quiet ‘Thanks’. Satisfied, Shulk gathered the remaining medical tools and began to store them away again. 

Dark Pit shot a look at Toon who was watching over him and grunted a bit. “Hey can you remove this chain now? I am not going to run away.” Toon stared at Dark Pit with a narrow glare to read his lips before nodding and released Dark Pit from his chains. Rubbing the slight abrasions from the chain, Dark Pit looked up at Shulk and huffed. “So the kid is deaf?” Dark Pit wanted confirmation on the subject as Shulk nodded. “Yeah Toon is deaf, but he is getting really good at lip reading. So long as you know how to make it easy for him.” 

With a grunt, Dark Pit leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. “Please, I had to get used to lip reading in order to communicate with dumbass Pit-stain through the mirrors so your worry is fucking futile.” Dark Pit felt Shulk’s gaze on his skin but refused to look the visionary in the eye, turning away instead. “I will teach you the sign language that we use later.’ The visionary offered. 

That would be very annoying, Dark Pit thought, having to learn something entirely new just to communicate with one person in this rag-tag group but even Dark Pit was smart enough to know that if he didn’t their communication in battle would be hampered severely. “Yeah yeah fine.” He waved at Shulk reluctantly as he slumped back against the wall, ghosting his left hand over his stomach where Shulk had treated a nasty deep gash. Toon was on the other side of the room, running Dark Pit’s chiton under running water, washing the dark angel’s clothes for him. The dark clothes did well to hide the blood stains that soaked it, but under the clear running water, all that facade melted away as the water turned a pale red. 

Dark Pit raised his gaze towards Toon, flinching in disgust at how red the water was as Toon scrubbed down his chiton. The tiny hylian froze in his movement and looked over at Dark Pit to which Dark Pit swiftly sucked in a breath and with a hostile glare made Toon stick a tongue back at him in retaliation before returning to washing his clothes. Dark Pit’s ever so familiar scowl painted his face again as he turned away from Toon to look at the door in front of him, muttering quiet curses to himself. 

The door of the room they took refuge in soon creaked open and the lighter angel used his back to push the door open and quickly close it before he exhaled in relief and smiled as he held up his satchel with a grin. “I found a stove in what looked like a kitchen so I heated up as much water as I could before a puppet came.” Pit set his satchel on the floor and slowly dug through it, taking out bottles upon bottles and thermos after thermos filled with boiling water. “We can use this to make something quick to eat.” Pit offered as he began to search through his satchel for something they could whip up. 

Dark Pit groaned and rolled his eyes. “Is your mind always centered around food? When you aren’t flapping about doing all those damn petty orders from your deplorable goddess, you are always eating. Don’t you ever get fat?” Dark Pit hissed out to which Pit began to protest. “Don’t call Lady Palutena that! She isn’t… Besides angels don’t get fat...” Pit slightly muttered as he pinched at his belly. “I think…”

With a huff, Dark Pit leaned back against the wall as Pit took out a few packets of instant soup, possibly something he stole from the Great Fox. “Pit…” Shulk piped up as he saw Pit slowly pop the instant soup packets open and begin pouring the powder into the hot water thermos. “Are those-” Pit immediately gave Shulk a ‘Shhhh… it's fine. It's for survival. I will return more to Fox later.” Shulk was not convinced but Pit was already pouring the instant soup powder into each of the thermos, so he didn’t have any way of stopping the light angel at that point. Instead, the Homs looked through his own bag and pulled out some instant coffee packets and offered them to Dark Pit. “Coffee?” 

Dark Pit’s eyes lit up with a bright glint, a small smile worming it’s way way onto the dark angel’s sour face for a moment before he quickly mentally slapped himself and the smile faded away instantly. “Yeah sure.” He chose to say, bitter as always as Shulk shrugged and began to pour the powder into the glass bottles. The silence that followed was deafening and tense, only broken momentarily by Toon who managed to finish washing Dark Pit’s chiton and hung them up to dry. The tiny sailor bounced back towards the group, smug satisfaction written all over his face as he ran up to them, gesturing and puffing up his chest in pride at his completed task. Shulk and Pit both gave Toon a gentle ruffle on his head, but when Toon went up to Dark Pit, things got a little tense. 

Toon stared at Dark Pit and Dark Pit back at Toon, both their eyes locked in a staring contest with one another until Toon broke the silence. “I washed… your clothes... “ Toon managed to mutter out despite the weird intonations he made, which made Dark Pit flinch a little at how odd the sailor spoke. Toon saw that and shook his head before muttering a weirdly spoken ‘Sorry’ and slowly backed away from Dark Pit to help Pit distribute the soup. Pit thanked Toon as he took his own thermos and Dark Pit’s thermos and brought it over to the Dark Angel who eyed his lighter counterpart sharply before taking the bottle from Pit. Sitting down on the right of Dark Pit, Pit began to spoon a few mouthfuls of soup into his mouth as he spoke. 

“You know… Toon does not mean any harm, he even helped wash your clothes for you. The least you could do is thank him.” Pit chided between mouthfuls, earning a hiss from Dark Pit. “I am just fucking pissed that you guys insisted on coming here even though I explicitly told you not to. I am strong on my own and I don’t need your help.” Pit shook his head and set his thermos down to look at Dark Pit. “But you were hurt! You were really struggling if you couldn’t escape from Dracula’s Castle on your own within a week! You needed help so that's why we came!” 

“I am strong on my own! I don’t need your pathetic help! I could have done it all on my own!” Dark Pit retorted as his left red eye burned and ignited with the flame of vigor. “But how long would that have taken? Days? Weeks? Months?” Pit screamed back, kneeling down in front of Dark Pit as the locked eyes together. The both of them breathed deeply as they stared at each other, both angels refusing to budge from their stance on the matter as Shulk quickly picked up Toon and excused himself from the room. 

“Toon and I will go and find a way around the castle while you two sort it out…” Shulk was not one to like conflicts, any sort of conflict made him feel uncomfortable, especially when it came to such emotionally driven conflicts. He didn’t mind getting into heated science debates, but what Pit and Dark Pit were screaming about, he wanted no part in it. The heated emotions being flung around the room by both angels made it claustrophobic and Shulk was finding it hard to breathe inside. Excusing himself, Shulk and Toon left the room to the bickering angels. 

“Shut up Pit-stain! I am not like you! I can take care of myself! You are nothing without your stupid goddess! You would be the one to take months to complete this damn place on your own!” Dark Pit spat out, trying to sit up but ultimately failing from the pain that shot through his back when he moved his wing. Leaning back against the wall with a hiss of discomfort, Pit seized the opportunity to fight back. “Not true, Pittoo! Look at you! When we found you, you were beaten and battered up! Your body was not going to last any longer in that condition!” Slapping Pit’s hand away, Dark Pit scowled, growling at the lighter angel. “I told you I would heal in time!” 

“No you wouldn’t!” Pit insisted as he gestured wildly at all the bandages that Dark Pit was wrapped up in. “Look at you! You can barely move now! You don’t get to call me out for putting myself in danger when you were on the verge of death yourself!” Pit breathed in deeply as he clenched his right hand into a fist. Dark Pit hissed out as he swung his left arm out in a wide arc, “And you think you can openly blame yourself for not being able to help someone else?”

“Stop thinking that you can do everything on your own!”   
“Stop feeling guilty about Palutena’s sacrifice!” 

Both angels screamed in unison before they both collapsed in gasps and deep breaths for air. The silence that followed strung between the angels for a long time, Pit moving over to grab his thermos and eat a few more spoons of soup while Dark Pit drank his coffee, grateful that it was strong and bitter just like he enjoyed it. The two angels refused to face eye-to-eye with their other counterpart, each angel opting to just enjoy their food and beverage as they pondered on what each other had screamed at them. It was Pit who broke the silence first.

“I can’t help but feel guilty…” Pit mummurred as he threw the empty thermos across the room, the bottle clattering against the ground as Pit curled up with his knees to his chest and face in his knees. “I am supposed to be the Captain of Lady Palutena’s Guard. I am supposed to protect her… not the other way around. I couldn’t save her… so the least I can do is save others and help them to make up for it.” 

“And you think that overdoing it is the only way to make up for it? To wash away that guilt of yours?” Dark Pit huffed out as he sighed and looked up at the cracked ceiling of the room they were resting in. Pit didn’t respond, he didn’t know how to respond as the lighter angel tried his hardest to contain his tears and sobs. “I… I just… Lady Palutena sacrificed herself for me… she didn’t have to do that… I should have been the one to-”

“Palutena would not have wanted that.” Dark Pit stated bluntly, looking back at Pit with his burning crimson left eye. “Palutena wanted to save you because she probably knew that Galeem could not be stopped at that point of time. Didn’t you hear her at all Pit-stain? She wanted to save you, because she knew that as long as one of us survived and came back stronger, then Galeem will be defeated.” Scowling Dark Pit ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance. “Clearly none of us ‘survived’ but she was looking out for you… for us.” 

“You may be her guard and you may have the duty to protect her, but think for once in your goddamn fucking life Pit-stain!” Dark Pit growled out as he finally managed to pull himself away from the wall, grabbing onto Pit’s scarf and pulling his lighter counterpart close to his face. “A mother has the obligation and all the fucking right in the world to love and protect her children! Can’t your dumbass brain even comprehend that? Don’t you dare compare your duty to her feelings!” 

Time stopped ticking as eyes of blue and red stared deep into each other, Pit’s blue eye coated in a shiny sheen of tears as Dark Pit’s red eye burned brighter with a flame. Letting go of Pit’s scarf, both angels collapsed backwards, Pit on the floor and Dark Pit against the wall. The only thing that could be heard were the short sniffs from Pit slowly broke down. At first it started off soft before it turned into a full on fountain of tears. Pit was a strong warrior who had lived for almost hundreds of years by now, but even this was a first for the angel. The emotions of his entire journey starting from when they were first defeated by Galeem came crashing upon him, like a waterfall.

The guilt that had festered and boiled in his stomach for so long began to pour out of his mouth in waves as Pit’s wails continued to echo around the room as Dark Pit leaned against the wall, his bangs hiding his eye as he waited for Pit patiently. The light angel cried and cried, the bandage on his left damp and soaked through with his tears. Dark Pit gingerly moved over to Pit and took the bandage off Pit’s left eye, relieving the pressure on the eye, allowing the tears to flow freely. For Pit to finally pour his heart out, all the tears he had kept within him. As soon as the bandage was removed, Pit leaned forward into Dark Pit, crying into the darker angel’s shoulder with loud sobs and ugly sounds. 

Dark Pit was taken aback a bit, but his muscles soon relaxed as he leaned back against the wall once more, rubbing his left arm up and down Pit’s back to soothe him. He didn’t say anything, silently waiting for Pit to finish, for Pit to take all the time he needed. Pit may be annoyingly cheerful most of the time, but as his mirror image, Dark Pit knew… Dark Pit knew that deep down inside, Pit kept everything to himself so he could always be happy for others. Dark Pit himself represented Pit’s repressed feelings, so he knew all this time that Pit’s guilt was overflowing. 

It was okay to let it all out once in a while. 

“I am so sorry… Lady Palutena… I am so sorry… I always thought about what I should be doing for you… I never thought about what you wanted for me… I am so sorry for being so blind…” Pit choked and gasped between sobs as Dark Pit sighed. “Don’t always follow her orders blindly and don’t go about following everything to the T. Sometimes understanding where she comes from or what the situation needs… will save you more than just a little fucking trouble.” Dark Pit coaxed Pit in an uncharacteristic manner. Dark Pit wondered why he was going so far to let Pit cry on him, but he felt like… this was something only he could do. He lied to himself it was for self-preservation over and over again as Pit slowly began to slow down in his sobs to a soft whisper. 

Pit slowly drew himself away from Dark Pit, both his eyes opening slowly. One blue and one red staring back at Dark Pit. Dark Pit decided to forgive Pit for disorienting his vision this time as he allowed tears to finally dry up from Pit’s eyes. As he stared into a sea of red and blue, Dark Pit noticed how far Pit had come, how much he had suffered just to come here. It’s peculiar isn’t it? How one’s eyes can tell the whole tale. After a while, Pit used his right arm to wipe away the remnant of his tears and begin to slowly cover his left eye with a new bandage once more. As Dark Pit shook off the disorienting feeling that threatened to give him a headache, Pit took his seat next to Dark Pit against the wall. 

The both of them staring at the door where Toon and Shulk had left through a while back in silence before Dark Pit started the conversation again. “Those two helped you come here, didn’t they?” Pit nodded slowly as he drew his knees to his chest once more. “Shulk and Toon have been so forgiving. When I first started fighting with them, I messed up… I messed up a lot. Yet they still believed in me and continued to teach me how to fight with them. It was only because of them that-” “You managed to defeat Galeem.” Dark Pit finished with a huff. Pit’s mouth hung open in shock for a moment before he closed it with a warm smile. “Yeah…” 

Dark Pit was used to being alone, to doing everything on his own. Even in the Uprising, he was his own person, never siding with one side or the other no matter what. He wanted to be free, to be independent. Teamwork never once crossed his mind, not once. Only because he thought that being alone was the only way to get stronger. He hated to admit it outloud, but he had fallen behind. Pit had managed to get through the World of Light and even kicked Galeem’s shiny ass, but he… he was still stuck here in Dracula’s Castle, unable to progress, unable to get stronger. He really hated agreeing with his annoying lighter counterpart, but Pit was right, he would probably have taken weeks to defeat Dracula’s Castle on his own. To fall behind like that… it aggravated him to no end. It really did. 

Dark pit let his crimson gaze fall to the floor then to the many bandages wrapped around his leg and arms. He moved his wings slightly, hissing softly in pain at the aches that shot through his body stemming from the injury on his wing. Pit got so far and looked so damn healthy too… was it because he had people to look out for him? To cover his weakness? The thought of teaming up never ran through Dark Pit’s mind, mostly because he stubbornly refused to fall back to relying on others. He wanted to prove he was strong on his own. But in this world with these circumstances? 

“You cannot be on your own in this world Pittoo.” Pit muttered out quietly to which the darker angel sharply turned his head to face Pit. Pit peaked up from his knees as he looked at Dark Pit through the corner of his vision, vibrant blue eyes shimmering. “I made it this far because of Shulk and Toon. So let us help you make it through here too. It's better to be in a team than to be on your own.” Pit’s right arm reached over to clutch as his numb and weak left side with a strong grip that might leave a bruise but Pit could not feel anything as he did so. “They cover for your weaknesses and you can get stronger together. Being alone is good and all, but it can only get you so far.” Pit chuckled weakly as he let go of his left side, allowing his right arm to fall back to his side. “I am sure you know that… you played Light vs Dark a lot with me back in Skyworld.” 

Dark Pit did not say anything, he couldn’t find anything within him to respond at the moment as he let the silence propagate through the room until knocking was heard on the door and Shulk, along with Toon burst into the room. “Dark Pit!” Shulk gasped out between pants as he leaned over, clutching his knees in deep breaths to catch his breath. Toon tried to calm down the panicking seer by patting his back as Shulk looked up, sweat beads dripping down in thick streams from his forehead. The lines that painted his skin buffering and slightly darker blue in colour as Shulk gasped out, “Is your coffee bad?” 

Dark Pit shot a strange look at Shulk with a scowl as he picked up his thermos of coffee and took another drink of it, swirling it in his mouth before swallowing against the protests of the Homs. It tasted as bitter as he liked it, strong and dark as he enjoyed. “It’s fine. Its fucking normal. What are you doing running a marathon for? There is nothing fucking wrong with my coffee. Don’t run a fucking marathon for it.” Shulk squinted hard at Dark Pit between pants as he picked up his thermos. “I swear…” Shulk breathed, “My coffee tasted like sand.” 

Dark Pit scoffed in disbelief. “You just have no sense of taste!” Shulk flinched slightly, Fiora had once told him the same thing but he really didn’t believe he had no sense of taste. It was just weird that the coffee suddenly started tasting like sand to him, gritty and bland. But Dark Pit was right, if Dark Pit said his coffee was fine, then it clearly should be okay… right? Shaking his head, Shulk sighed, “If your serving is alright, then that's fine.” 

Toon helped to lead Shulk over to rest, with swift gestures offered to prepare a few sheets for the group as the tiny Hylian ran about the room collecting as much soft material as he could to prepare beds for the group. Toon giggled to himself as he picked out his sack of feathers, collected from Pit, and began to use it to make pillows. While Toon was allowed to do what he needed to make the group’s first night together in the castle more comfortable, Dark Pit turned to Shulk who was still catching his breaths. 

“Hey.” Dark Pit called out curtly to Shulk, catching the seer’s attention as Shulk’s turquoise eyes locked with Dark Pit’s single left red eye. “Thanks for looking out for him… I guess. Fuck. Just let me join the fucking team okay?” Pit perked up at Dark Pit’s statement and looked at Shulk with wide pleading eyes, reminiscent of a puppy dog as Shulk looked between both angels and nodded with a warm smile. “We have been waiting for you to say that. Toon, Pit and I have been waiting for you to say that.” 

Leaning back against the opposite wall from Dark Pit. Shulk chuckled. “Welcome to the team Dark Pit.” As Pit jumped onto Dark Pit with a whoop of joy. Toon got the gist of it and soon dropped his preparations to instead pile on top of Dark Pit in excitement. The wind was knocked out of Dark Pit but despite his scowls, grunts and hisses, he did manage to mutter a quiet ‘thank you’ between grit teeth. The night was going to be long now, as Dark Pit was in for a crash course on the sign language and the group’s fighting style. 

A sea of red and blue. Two sets of eyes, one red and one blue. But both sets are now complete. Much like light and dark. Two angels now together again. Mirror images they may be, but deep inside they were the same, scared and on their own, until they can put aside what set them apart to understand what they needed the most. Coffee is a mixture between light and dark, the bitter black taste mellowed by the light white milk. 

_‘But sometimes, a matter of taste is redundant.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Formally introducing: Dark Pit, servant to no other but himself. 
> 
> As the opposite of Pit, Dark Pit loses the right half of his body and has a blue right eye as well. So basically think Pit but if his right side was the one that got affected. Simple no?


	15. A Castle Cloaked in Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight TW for uhh Body Image? Just proceed with caution, there is a lot of angst in this one.
> 
> Also once again shoutouts to Ryss for doing the Comic on this fic. Once again you can find it here:  
https://sltd-comic.tumblr.com

### Chapter 15: A Castle Cloaked in Darkness

The moon continued to hang high in the sky, faint moon rays dancing across the room through the shattered windows, sending a nasty chill through the room. A shiver ran up Toon’s back, forcing the tiny hylian’s eyes to fly open with a soft gasp, Toon immediately pulled the sheets over himself to try and warm himself up and go back to sleep since it was still dark out even in the room. But no matter how hard he tried, Toon could not get his body to sleep, his body clock was screaming, howling for him to get up. Holding a small hand over his forehead, Toon tried to forcefully close his eyes and fall back asleep, but after many failed attempts, the sailor gave up. 

Toon sat up on his sheets, wrapping a few layers around him as he gingerly shuffled over to the window and closed his eyes, allowing his skin to prick and feel the way the wind, the air and the atmosphere moved around him. There was no hint of the warm morning winds, not even the taste of dawn’s currents on his tongue. Opening his eyes, Toon looked up at the moon that still hung high in the sky. Eternal night. 

Toon let out a shaky sigh as he drew the covers over his tiny body even more, trying to bundle himself up to keep warm. Ever since the mountain hypothermia incident, Toon had grown a disdain to the cold, and for good reason as well. Toon felt his stomach grumble in hunger, and he admitted to himself that he hadn’t had much to eat ever since the excitement around Dark Pit the previous day. 

Turning to find food amongst their collective inventory, Toon froze in his tracks, hands shivering, eyes quivering and lip shaking before he flung his covers off himself. He didn’t care how much noise he made as he ran, tumbled onto his knees right next to Shulk. Usually in such dim conditions, the lines that were carved deep into Shulk’s body would glow with a soft light and project a faint blue light that lit up the night. However, instead of pale blue, the lines were a dead dull grey. There were still small faint colours of blue that attempted to run through the lines along Shulk’s body but they soon faded away after travelling a certain distance. 

When Toon placed a hand over Shulk’s face, he immediately drew it back with fear and worry splashed on his face. Shulk’s breathing was slow, too slow and he felt cold, way too cold. ‘Ether potions! Ether potions!’ Toon hurriedly grabbed as many bottles as he could, dumping them around Shulk with a loud clatter that roused the darker angel, who was a lighter sleeper than Pit. Groaning, Dark Pit watched with sleepy eyes as Toon started pouring the odd blue liquid one by one into Shulk’s mouth. Bottle after bottle, Shulk’s lines still did not light up like it usually did when he restored his ether. 

“No no no no no.” Dark Pit heard the shaky voice of Toon mutter over and over again as the tiny Hylian rushed to shove the 7th bottle’s contents into Shulk’s mouth, but still did not receive any response from the visionary. Dark Pit didn’t like what he was seeing, Shulk in what looked like a death-like state on the floor next to Toon and Toon’s face flushed with fear. With a swift kick, Dark Pit sharply kicked Pit in the ribs causing the light angel to jump up in shock and slight pain. “Ow ow ow…” Pit hissed before he blinked his eyes slightly. “Is it breakfast time?” The light angel innocently looked over at Dark Pit who pulled himself to grab Pit by the scarf.

“Wake the fuck up Pit-stain! Something is not fucking right with the nerd! This ain’t the time to sate your dumb-fuck stomach!” Dark Pit then forced Pit to look at the exasperated Toon who was now pouring his 10th bottle down Shulk’s throat. Pit didn’t need more than that as he jumped out his sleepiness instantly, rushing over to Toon with Dark Pit slowly following behind him. Pit took to shouting Shulk’s name over and over again, shaking the visionary to try to stir him awake. Yet no matter what he tried, not a response was seen or heard from the unconscious seer. 

The panic was starting to set in, as Pit looked between Toon and the ether potions. “Maybe the ether potions aren’t potent enough…” He muttered as he dove into Shulk’s dimensional storage bag, taking out only one small water-based ether crystal. There were not enough whole crystals. “This is bad… really bad…” Pit breathed sharply as he whipped his head around in bleak hope they left other crystals lying around the room to no avail. Dark Pit stood above the scene in disbelief, his attention snatched away by Pit who immediately grabbed Dark Pit by the shoulder and began to shake him. “Pittoo! Do you know if there are any ether crystals in the area?” 

“Ether-what now?” Dark Pit shot a strange look at Pit but seeing the desperation in Pit’s eyes, he knew it was not the time for snarky remarks or insults at the lighter angel’s ignorance of Dark Pit’s relative lack of understanding of these foreign terms. “Ether crystals! They are giant crystals that look really pretty and have this wave of energy that radiate within them!” Pit hopelessly tried to explain, it was hard to discern ether crystals from normal crystals scattered around the world. Dark Pit reluctantly shook his head. “I don’t fucking know Pit-stain!” Dark Pit hissed out before Pit let go of Dark Pit’s shoulder and stared at his shaking right hand. 

“I...I… We need to find ether crystals… We need to… We just have to!” Dark Pit wanted to chide Pit for his hastiness, for this was not needed now. “Pull yourself together Pit-stain! Don’t go negative on me! If we need to find something, then we can’t just stand around here waiting for it to fall on our laps. We will go hunt for those ether-fucking- whatever now!” Dark Pit insisted as Pit swallowed down a hard lump and nodded, rubbing his eye with his right arm. 

Before they could make a move, the door began to shake and a knocking was heard. Instinctively, Dark Pit and Pit grabbed their weapons, Dark Pit with his signature Silver Bow and Pit with his Palutena Bow, pointing the ends in a defensive manner at the door as the door creaked open. Dark Pit roared as he charged at the door, expecting to slice a puppet in half until - “STOP!” Dark Pit stumbled on his step and quickly halted in his tracks, tripping and falling onto his knees right in front of the door. Standing at the door frame were some familiar faces. With white hair and a dark black cloak was Robin and next to him, the bouncy princess Daisy. Sitting in Daisy’s hands was a… tiny purple dragon. 

“Robin?” Pit breathed out in shock as the tactician nodded. “Yes, it's me Robin. Put down your weapons, we mean no harm.” Dark Pit scowled slightly but obliged, Pit doing the same as Robin breathed out in relief. “We heard noises coming from this room so we thought someone else might have gotten hurt from fighting the puppets and taken refuge here.” Robin supplemented to which Dark Pit spat out, “Yeah, you are half right on that.” 

Without giving Robin to consider the response, Pit ran up to the tactician, grabbing him on the shoulder and shaking Robin. “Robin! Do you know where to find ether crystals? Shulk-Shulk might die if we don’t find it now!” Pit pleaded with the white-haired tactician. Robin looked between Pit and then to Daisy and then to the unconscious Shulk. Toon looked up at the new faces with shining eyes covered in tears, huge spheres of tears spilling from the hylian’s eyes as he continued trying to shake the visionary awake. 

Robin withheld his questions for now, instead putting on a serious face. “Daisy, can you help Toon Link look over Shulk’s condition?” Daisy nodded with a salute. “Ok, you can count on me.” The sporty princess held the tiny purple dragon in her arms with her and ran over to Shulk, helping Toon pull the seer into a more comfortable position so he could breathe better. The tiny purple dragon was placed gently on the ground and Daisy told the lizard to make a small flame to warm Shulk with. Despite the apparent scowl, the dragon obliged, producing a tiny flame ball to keep Shulk’s temperature warm. 

With that out of the way, Robin turned to Pit. “What do ether crystals look like?” Pit opened his mouth but Dark Pit beat him to the punch with a more concise answer, “Crystals that have waves of energy that radiate within them.” Dark Pit was frank and to the point as Robin nodded. “I remember seeing some at the entrance of the castle. Follow me.” The tactician gestured for the two angels to follow him as the angels did not waste any time chasing after the tactician. “Hang on Shulk. We will save you.” Pit muttered to himself to which Dark Pit scowled. “Keep optimistic Pit-stain! No one here is dying! Not on my watch!” 

Bursting out into the open, Robin led the two angels to a small bush and pushed it aside where a whole deposit of shining blue ether crystals were. There was also a small deposit of red ether crystals that were fire-based crystals on the side, each deposit gleaming and radiating a bright energy with every sheen of light that danced upon its surface. Without a moment to spare, Pit and Dark Pit both swung their weapons down on the ether crystal deposits, Pit on the fire-based ones and Dark Pit on the water-based ones. They collected as much as they could until the deposits were mined dry and they were ready to return. 

With Robin’s knack for memory, the two angels and the tactician managed to return back to the safe room where Toon had broken down crying in Daisy’s lap, while the Princess had finally managed to get some warmth and colour into Shulk’s skin. She looked up as the three burst through the door, heavy panting and breathing from their rush as she moved aside. “Did you get what you needed?” Daisy asked, voice laced with concern as Robin nodded sharply. “Yeah… hopefully it helps.” Daisy grabbed Pit by his right hand and pulled the angel closer to Shulk. Pit sucked in a breath as he picked out a larger chunk of ether crystal and began to wrestle it into Shulk’s mouth. Dark Pit watched, flinching as Pit tried his best to force the crystal down Shulk’s system, “Shouldn’t you give him a smaller piece?” The darker angel hissed out as he dropped his own satchel filled full with ether crystals next to Pit. Pit fervently shook his head. “We have no time for that!” He choked out as he attempted to shove the large crystal down Shulk’s mouth, but with only one arm, that was proving difficult. 

The crystal was wrenched from Pit as the lighter angel was shoved aside and Daisy took over. “Leave this to me, he just has to eat it right?” She shot a quick glance at Pit who nodded curtly. The sporty princess took in a breath before she snapped the crystal in half with pure brute force and shoved the separate pieces down Shulk’s throat, following up with an ether potion that Toon was using before to wash it down. Daisy did not stop there, she gestured for Dark Pit to hand over his supply and slowly, one by one, she forced more large ether crystals down Shulk’s system whole. With every piece that Shulk swallowed in his unconscious state, the lines on his body began to light up. 

It started out as a flicker at first before the colour returned brighter and brighter until the full blue colour of ether energy began to glow and illuminate off Shulk’s body as it usually did. Shulk’s breathing began to pick up the pace and the colour returned to his skin. As soon as Daisy forced another piece down Shulk’s throat, a cough and a raspy gasp escaped the Seer’s mouth. The entire room froze and began to gather around Shulk, watching as the visionary’s fingers began to twitch slightly and his eyes fluttered open ever so slightly. Through the small crack that Shulk’s eyes managed to open, the group watched with bated breath as Shulk’s turquoise eyes flickered between them, blearily blinking before Shulk seemed to breath out. 

“... T-Toon… P-Pit… Da-Dark… Pit…” Shulk managed to force out, his voice raspy, scratchy and weak before Toon threw himself onto the seer. With a high pitched wail, Toon sobbed and cried into Shulk’s chest to which the visionary very shakily rubbed a hand along Toon’s back. Pit wiped a tear of relief away from his eyes as the rest of the group around Shulk fell backwards in sighs of relief. The seer was still drunk with fatigue and his voice was sore and dry, body mostly paralyzed from how he was moving but he was awake. He was alive. 

Robin managed to recollect himself pretty quickly as he moved over to Shulk and looked over the visionary with a squint. “How are you feeling?” Shulk blinked blearily at Robin for a moment, “R-Robin?” Robin nodded gently and asked again, “How are you feeling?” Shulk’s face twisted slightly in pain as he hissed out, “m’ body is paralyzed. I can’t move it… It feels really weak.” Robin scratched the back of his head and sighed, this was a condition he was unaware of and he didn’t know how to solve it. Turning to Pit, Robin admitted, “I don’t know what else we can do for him. Let’s give him a bit more time to lie down and rest up.” Pit sniffed and wiped his tears with a nod. Robin turned to Daisy who had picked up the tiny purple dragon, “Daisy, can you help to make Shulk eat more of those crystals?” Daisy narrowed her eyes at Robin but nodded. “Understood,” She confirmed before she set the tiny dragon next to Shulk and with a passive-aggressive smile at the tiny dragon ordered, “Ridley, keep Shulk warm, kay?” The tiny purple dragon, Ridley huffed out and produced another plasma fireball and held it next to Shulk as Daisy picked up another ether crystal.

Shulk looked up at Daisy with slightly wide eyes as Daisy approached him with the crystal and he shook his head. “D-Daisy… We can talk about this-” Daisy squinted at Shulk, puffing out her cheek. “There is no room to talk about this. You will eat this and get better!” Shulk breathed in sharply, “but ether crystals taste terrible-” “Too late!” Daisy cheekily smiled as she forced another crystal into Shulk’s mouth, interrupting the seer’s line of thought. With no strength to fight back, Shulk could only stare in horror and try to move his head to fight back, however Daisy was far superior in strength at this point so Shulk soon conceded. 

The ether crystals this time went down a lot easier than usual, which spooked Shulk a lot more than it should, for the ether crystals tasted… well it tasted much like the coffee from the day before. It was bland, gritty and sandy. Shulk relaxed in defeat, but this time voluntarily eating the crystals this time without Daisy having to force it through to him, since it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Pit crashed onto the floor, arms spread out across the ground as he laughed weakly. “Thank goddesses. Thank Lady Palutena…” He choked out between sobs. Robin moved over to pick up Toon Link away from Shulk to give the visionary and Daisy some space to let Shulk eat his ether crystals, holding the tiny Hylian in his arms, rubbing gently along Toon’s back. Robin moved over to Pit and Dark Pit, the latter of which was sitting up taking a breather next to Pit, and waited for a moment. When the time was right and Pit seemed back to normal, Robin began. “Do you guys want to explain the situation to us?”

* * *

“I see… so you came here to save Dark Pit. That makes sense. Which means you will also be stuck here until you can beat the boss of this area right?” Robin muttered as he took a sip of coffee from the cup that Pit had offered him. Pit nodded, looking up from his bowl of stew with a wide grin. “Yup! Do you guys know who the boss of this area is?” Pit inquired, shovelling another spoonful into his mouth and swallowing it whole. Robin tapped a finger on his chin as he pondered. “The boss should be Dracula. He runs this castle and is the one who has been sending those puppets after us all this time.” Robin mused as Pit smiled cheekily. “Then it's settled! We just have to go beat up Dracula and get out of here!” Dark Pit spat out his coffee in shock, wiping his mouth with his left arm before snarling at Pit. “Are you crazy?! You can’t just hit him randomly! It's almost as if he is the mist when you try attacking him!”

Robin nodded in agreement. “Dark Pit is right. Many of us have tried to take on Dracula but none of us have succeeded so far. However, I am sure he isn’t that invincible, he has to have a weakness somewhere. If you can figure out what his weakness is, then you will be able to plan a really good battle strategy around it.” Pit chuckled at Robin’s ramblings, “That's the tactician in you speaking huh?” Robin blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah… sorry force of habit. It’s absolutely necessary after all, since I lost my Levin Sword and all my Magic Tomes. With only a Bronze Sword, I must play my cards carefully.” 

“Robin has been fantastic all this while! Did you know? He is really good at accommodating our weaknesses!” Daisy chimed in with a happy tune. “Because of that weird light thing, I ended up being afflicted with respiratory issues so I cannot run for as long as I normally want to.” Daisy said with a pout before she flung an arm around Robin’s shoulder, shocking the tactician as she pumped a fist in the air. “But thanks to Robin, I haven’t gotten an attack in forever! He is really good at keeping track!” Robin pushed Daisy off with a flustered face. “It’s only natural for a tactician to know when their teammates need the rest. It’s basic cooperation and teamwork.” Robin covered up before he picked up Ridley by the scruff of the neck. 

The tiny dragon yelped and tried to bite Robin for doing that but only managed to gum down Robin’s arm. “Ridley for one has been reduced to nothing but a baby dragon with no teeth. Look, it's all just gums.” Robin forced Ridley’s mouth open to show the group Ridley’s lack of teeth, all gums that were soft and pink. With a snort of smoke, Ridley struggled out of Robin’s grasp and scurried away to hide, hissing and screeching from afar to show his displeasure despite how cute it sounded and looked. 

Toon was giggling as he sat in Shulk’s lap watching Ridley try to act big and scary and Pit stifled to hold back a laugh with a cough. Dark Pit on the other hand was eyeing Shulk who had fallen silent, numbly poking at his bowl of stew. “Hey nerd.” Dark Pit grunted out, catching Shulk’s attention as the Seer quickly looked up upon being called. Dark Pit huffed as he pointed his spoon at Shulk’s bowl. “Stop being picky and eat your fucking stew already.” Shulk bit his lip as he looked at his bowl, weakly poking his spoon at the food with a numb nod. “Yeah… It’s just… forget it.”

Shulk shook his head and smiled weakly at Dark Pit and forced himself to swallow the stew. Dark Pit seemed content with the action and let Shulk be as the seer felt his throat constrict and his stomach bubble in retaliation the more he tried to force himself to eat. It all tasted like sand, tasted like nothing to him, which made it even harder to keep down. Shulk choked back a cough, stopping himself from hurling. His stomach roared in frustration, his mind screaming at him to spit it all out, but Shulk’s heart did not have the conviction to make a scene before his friends. Even so, the stew didn’t taste good to him. It was dull, bland. It tasted like nothing. It was all disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. 

“There is a throne room not far from here. That is usually where Dracula is. I am sure if we all go together to take him on, we will be able to uncover his weakness in no time.” Robin suggested as he took another spoonful of stew. “This stew is really good by the way, you outdid yourself Pit.” Pit blushed in turn and smiled. “Aww shucks. Thanks Robin.” Dak Pit snorted as he finished his portion and threw his bowl aside in a haphazard manner. “It’s only so-so.” Dark Pit commented to which earned a resounding whien from Pit, “Pittooooooo…” 

Shulk absentmindedly held a hand to his stomach and pressed against it. He expected to feel the hard bumps and solid resistance from the ether crystals he had swallowed earlier but instead all he could feel was the sloshy liquid matter of stew that refused to be digested in his system. Pressing it and feeling it move around made him even more sick. Keeping the temptation down, Shulk looked up and listened in as Robin and Daisy made plans with Pit and Dark Pit on their preparation to find and fight Dracula for a bit before he began to stand up. Toon jumped off his lap and looked up at Shulk with a curious face, to which the Homs smiled weakly and signed, ‘Toilet, don’t worry’ to Toon and the tiny Hylian nodded. 

After informing the group that he was going to go to the bathroom to wash up, Pit handed him the mirror that he ‘stole’ from the Great Fox. “There aren’t any mirrors here in this mansion, so use this if you need to wash up.” Pit grinned widely as Shulk nodded, a quick thanks before he disappeared into the bathroom. 

Closing the door behind him, Shulk breathed in deeply as he weakly brought up the mirror to his face. His turquoise eyes were still glimmering ever so bright and the lines on his body seemed more luminescent than ever, probably because of all the ether crystals he ate, though they were still glowing with a slow tempo, to show Shulk’s uncertainty. Shulk saw dark bags hanging under his eyes and he saw how dry his lips were, cracked and white. He couldn’t bear to see himself anymore, he looked utterly miserable. Instead he opted to sate his body by moving over to the toilet bowl where he took off his jacket and then his jumper and threw them aside as he leaned over the toilet. 

It didn’t take much coaxing for everything to spew out of Shulk’s throat and out of his protesting stomach. When all that was over and done with, Shulk collapsed against the wall of the toilet, the mirror grasped weakly in his palm as he tried to blink away the spots in his vision. He moved his gaze down to his stomach, muttering weak incoherent sentences to himself before he froze and sucked in a breath. The circular pattern of the Monado lines on his chest was not the usual blue colour but had a tinge of gold to it. It was subtle but even Shulk noticed it, mostly because he knew his own body. 

The golden colour only swirled around the lines on his chest and did not appear on the lines further away from the core of his body, so the lines on his arms, legs and face were still the typical blue colour he had gotten used to seeing all the time now. Ghosting a hand over the golden circles, Shulk finally found the strength to speak as he asked no one in particular. 

“What is… happening to me?”

* * *

“Do you need more time to rest?” Pit asked Shulk as Shulk picked up Replica and swung the blade behind his back. Shulk shook his head weakly and smiled at Pit, well smiled as much as he could despite the pain that festered in his empty stomach. Subconsciously pulling his jumper down to ensure that the lines on the core of his body did not show, “I will be fine. I think my ether levels are just a little lower than usual here, but I will be fine.” Shulk put on a brave facade as Toon ran past them, aiming to chase after Robin’s group who were slightly further down the hallway to lead the way. Pit looked at Shulk with a squint and nodded before he ran after Toon to make sure the tiny Hylian didn’t trip and fall.

Shulk breathed in deeply, slightly relieved that Pit accepted his excuse. Shulk lifted his hand and watched as it shook and quivered before he clenched it into a tight fist and wrenched his gaze away from looking at those lines. Those lines… they were scary… his own body was scary… everything was-. “Hey.” The sudden serious tone of the darker angel cut through Shulk’s line of thought, making him jump and the lines flickering a bit to reflect his shock. Dark Pit leaned against the wall next to the door frame, his crimson left eye scrutinizing Shulk for a moment. 

“I know you are hiding something. You think you are so fucking smart being able to hide it. But your change in demeanour isn’t going to slip past me.” Dark Pit scowled, his words stringing into a hiss. “If you dare push yourself too hard and make the rest of the group die with concern, I will fucking murder you first. Got it?” Dark Pit threatened before he straightened himself and began to walk next to Shulk. “If you aren’t comfortable with talking to dumbass Pit-stain, because Palutena knows he is a fucking shit-head when it comes to thses things.” Dark Pit spat out with a hint of bitterness. “At least fucking talk to me.”

Shulk paused for a moment and nodded. “Yeah… I will try.” “Try harder.” Dark Pit retaliated before he huffed at Shulk, a sign for him to get moving. “Yeah… I guess.” Shulk sighed as he followed a little ways behind the main group along with Dark Pit by his side, the darker angel still keeping his sharp vermillion gaze on the seer. 

Robin drew out a map he had produced onto a piece of parchment paper and was waiting for Shulk and Dark Pit to catch up before he explained to them the route. With everyone gathered, Robin traced a line across the map. “The fastest way to the throne room is through this clock tower. If we go through the clock tower, we will reach Dracula within the next 30 mins. This is of course once we get past the puppets but I know their patrol routes so if we actively avoid those, we can make it to Dracula’s Throne room safely.” Robin rolled up the map and smiled as he looked at the group. “Everyone clear?” 

The resounding roger was pleasing to the tactician as he led them through the castle. The hallways were filled with a cold stale draft and every room they passed by had the group on guard, expecting a random puppet or the sorts to jump them. However, Robin was right, the route he had chosen completely avoided all the puppets. At every corner there were no puppets in sight, as Robin dragged the whole group underground into a small ether crystal cave. While there, Pit, Dark Pit and Shulk helped to collect ether crystals, stuffing as much as they could afford into their ‘infinite’ storage before catching up to Robin who was dead set on leading the way. They made their way up a ruined portion of the castle’s north wing, passing through hallways decorated in old portraits that were now dull with colour, smashed and shattered through. Scaling higher and higher, they finally came to the clock tower Robin mentioned prior. 

“Now there is a mechanism here that will turn the gears of the clock tower so we can use the gears in order to get to the throne room.” Robin explained as he began to tinker with the switches on the side of the wall. Buttons were pressed and the gears began to spin and move, creaking and squeaking as they rubbed against each other in an attempt to lodge themselves free. Shulk watched in awe as the gears turned as Robin needed to and when the gears were in place, Robin stood back up, wiping sweat from his brow. “There that should do it-”

The sudden echo of footsteps stopped Robin’s sentence midway as bursting out without warning from the door to the clocktower were a bunch of puppets. Wolf, Ryu, Ken and Bowser puppets came charging into the clock tower, crimson eyes dead set on taking down the warriors. Pit, Dark Pit and Toon immediately pulled out their weapons and were ready to fight, but Shulk on the other hand, he may have instinctively reached for Replica but he stopped when his fingers touched the hilt. He felt his palms go damp with sweat and Shulk bit his lip, he wanted to pick up Replica and fight but he… he was afraid. Afraid that if he did, whatever was happening to his body would just… would just.

Thankfully he didn’t have to make the decision. “Here we go!” Daisy’s chippy voice cut through the tension, pushing Shulk’s group onto the gears. Without giving them time to think or say something in response, Daisy turned to Robin, “Do it now!” With a flick of a switch, the gears flicked back into their original position but the force that turned the gears into place threw Shulk’s team right across the clock tower and onto the platform leading to the throne room. Shulk shook his head as a slight throb coursed through his head in the impact, but after shaking his head he looked back down at the group in horror as Robin, Daisy and… Ridley began to fend off the puppets. 

“ROBIN! DAISY! Uhhh… RIDLEY!” Pit screamed out back at the defending group. Robin looked up just as Daisy swung Ridley like a bat into the Bowser to fend the puppet off Robin, with a confident smile Robin shouted back. “Continue on without us! We will hold them off!” Daisy flung Ridley like a baseball at the Wolf Puppet and waved back at the group. “Your group is more attack oriented! Way better to defeat Dracula than our group! Just go! We have Robin on our side!” She smiled as she smacked her crown into the Ryu puppet. Shulk bit his lip at their proposition but knew they were right. 

Grabbing Toon Link and hoisting the tiny hylian in his arms, Shulk called out to the angels. “Come on! Let’s go! Let’s believe in Robin’s team!” Dark Pit huffed and nodded, grabbing Pit away from the ledge and running up the stairway, leaving the clock tower behind them as they burst into the throne room. 

_’Hmm… this place has way too little natural ether in the air… good thing those other mortals managed to solve the problem in time. Perhaps a little more tinkering…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Update before Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. I am going mother fucking feral for this and I am going to play it all day instead of writing so we will see Dracula maybe one day lol.
> 
> Thank you for reading and supporting Sacrifice to Light Darkness so far!


	16. Dracula

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still very bad at writing fight scenes. Lady Palutena bless my soul, I really cannot write fight scenes. And I still have so many more after this. I desire death at my doorstep.  
Also look Dracula :D

### Chapter 16: Dracula

The doors to the throne room slammed open as Shulk, Toon, Pit and Dark Pit tumbled into the majestic room. A dull pain bloomed in Shulk’s chest as heaved and gasped for air under the weight of the two angels, grasping and slamming his fist on the floor as he struggled to breathe until Toon managed to push the angels off Shulk. Toon ran up and held a hand over Shulk’s face, ghosting his tiny fingers over Shulk’s eyes before Shulk smiled at Toon weakly and pulled himself up. ‘I am fine.’ Shulk signed but Toon gave him a childish pout, handing another ether crystal to Shulk. Shulk was still mildly reluctant about eating them whole but he could feel his body shutting down quickly, so he popped it in his mouth and swallowed the hard lump. 

He took a deep breath and flushed the uncomfortable feeling in his throat with the help of an ether potion that Toon provided him before he could finally stumble to his feet. The two angels finally regained semblance of consciousness as Dark Pit began to kick Pit to wake up, the lighter angel groaning as he rolled on the floor. Toon helped support Shulk up to his feet before the Hylian and the Homs surveyed the throne room. 

The silver moonlight fell upon the stained glass windows depicting the lords of the castle, mostly tall pale lords in dark clothes and white hair complemented by glowing red eyes. Each window had a different depiction of the castle’s lords and their historical achievements throughout the millennia, as expected of beings that were nigh-immortal. The moonlight danced upon the stained multi-coloured glass, casting coloured light rays upon the concrete tiled floor covered in red carpet. Giant pillars spread across the throne room, with small candles nailed into them, chandeliers hanging high above on the ceiling, dull but still eerily lit up by multiple candles. A row of Victorian Era statues carved from marble lines the hallway until it ended at the throne. 

The throne big, dark and cushioned with red velvet and sitting upon it, in all his glory, with deep black and striking red cloak and what looked to be a pompous attire, was Dracula. White hair so long it touched his shoulders, a similarly white goatee on his chin as he played with a wine glass in his fingers. The wine was a deep red in colour as the vampire lord sipped on it, a dribble of red wine falling from his lips before he raised his crimson gaze to the group. On instinct, the group rose to their feet, hands on their weapons as needed. Toon’s shield raised and ready, Pit’s Palutena Bow split into two with one in his mouth and the other in his right palm, Dark Pit with the Silver Bow in his left, Shulk with his fingers grasping the hilt of Replica tightly this time. There was no time for hesitation in Shulk's mind. 

“Honoured guests…” Dracula drawled, his sharp long fingernails tapping on the wine glass, producing a shrill sound before he took another sip. “What brings you here to my charming throne room?” The immortal vampire lord placed the glass on the arm-rest of the throne as he leaned forward slightly, chin in his hands as he watched the group with steely red eyes. “To marvel at the beauty of the night sky from this vantage point? Perhaps to submit yourself to me?” 

“You already know why we are here.” Dark Pit spat out as he pointed the sharp end of the Silver Bow at Dracula with a scowl. “I challenged you before and I may have been thrown off the tower the first time but this time? I don’t plan on losing.” Dracula chuckled deeply, the sounds of his laughter echoing and rumbling throughout the throne room as he picked up his wine glass and swirled the red liquid inside the vessel. “Is that so?” Dracula cooed, his tone sweet, way too sweet. “And you think you can defeat me this time because you brought along your twin?” 

“Shut up!” Dark Pit hissed out slamming a foot into the ground. “This time. I am fucking serious and you won’t be smiling on that throne any longer, you old fart. Unless you are such a pussy that you can’t even handle if I brought along comrades, why don’t you go and cry to your mommy already boo hoo.” Shulk shot a sideways glance at Dark Pit in visible shock, the taunting was way out of hand but he locked eyes with Pit who shook his head violently. ‘Let Pittoo handle this.’ Pit signed back, the lighter angel slightly relieved that Toon Link could not hear all this, it was a bad influence.

Dracula froze, his fingers suddenly tensing as he grabbed his wine glass, the stem of the glass starting to crack and break under his grip before the vampire lord threw it behind his throne. The wine glass shattered in a million crystal shards on the wall, leaving a dark red stain where the wine was spilled, dribbling down the wall like oozing blood. The vampire lord stood up and flung his cape out behind him before he stepped off the throne’s pedestal. Polished black shoes shining in the moonlight as he stepped onto the red carpet, his back held straight in a poised posture before he snarled. “You dare insult me? The lord of this manor? Then perhaps I ought to send you to the coffin where you shall rot for all eternity.” 

With a flick of his wrist, Pit threw one half of his Palutena bow straight at Dracula’s chest, the bow blade shooting through the air but as soon as it was about to hit Dracula and stab his chest, the vampire lord’s body turned to mist, the blade harmlessly phasing through him. “Damn.” Pit clicked his tongue as he took the other half out of his mouth. “I really thought that would work.” Dark Pit shot his lighter image a scowl and with a snort reminded Pit, “I told you before that he would turn to mist if you hit him randomly. Fucking listen to me sometimes, Pit-stain!” Pit pouted but said nothing more as he dashed forwards at Dracula swinging the golden bow blade at the Vampire Lord. “Futile.” The Vampire Lord smirked as Pit managed to dash through his body that turned to mist in a split second. 

Pit rolled across the floor and grabbed the other half of his Palutena Bow off the ground, reconnecting the two halves and spinning it in a circle before holding it in front of him in a defensive position. Dracula turned around with a flick of his cape, facing Pit as a wry smile painted the old vampire’s lips. “You shall be the first to go-” His sentence interrupted quite abruptly by an arrow that whizzed through the air and barely grazed his ear. Dracula immediately held a hand to his ear and whipped his head around seethed at Toon who was preparing to shoot another arrow. “Change of plans…” Dracula hissed as he flung his cape out, producing three bursts of flame that shot out like cannonballs towards Toon. Toon blinked and fumbled with his weapons, way too slow to bring up his shield to block the blow - “Not on my fucking watch!” Dark Pit snapped as he ran in front of Toon, his own set of Guardian Orbitars hovering around him. With a flick of his wing and finger, the heavenly weapons produced a mirror of blue tinged with yellow. 

The flame bursts of hellfire bounced off the projected barrier, reflecting straight back at Dracula. The vampire lord unprepared for such a tactic had fire smothering his face as the flames burned and seared his skin. Roars of agony and pain rumbling throughout the throne room as the vampire lord scratched and clawed at his own face to put out the flames. “His head!” Dark Pit called out while signing with a quick motion to Toon, “Aim for his head! That’s that bitchass mother fucker’s weakness!” 

Dracula managed to smother out the flames just as a bright blue blade of energy contacted him straight in the cheek, burning and digging deep into the vampire lord’s white face as he screamed once more in pain. Shulk leaped backwards as Dracula seemed to disappear in a flash of light, landing safely on his two feet before drawing himself back up. He was about to activate Buster Art but he hesitated. Would his body even be able to handle it? Will he… will his body… just shut down if he tried? He didn’t know what his body was going through and that moment of hesitation was all Dracula needed. Reappearing behind Shulk, Dracula flung his cape out once more, spawning three fireballs, each sphere of flame burning with a deep red colour that had a swirling purple energy within its core. “Burn! I will scorch your face off” He snarled. 

The giant dark fireballs shot towards Shulk like giant bullets in the air, and Shulk instantly knew to switch to Shield Art but yet he told himself not to, out of pure hesitation once more. The fireballs homed in on him and he squeezed his eyes awaiting the raging flames, but it never came. Wrapped around his waist was Pit’s arm as the angel used his wing to propel him forward, just in time to avoid the fireballs. “Maright (Alright)?” Pit managed to mutter out his mouth where he was biting onto his Palutena Bow. Shulk shook his head and thanked Pit for the save as the light angel and seer regrouped with Dark Pit and Toon. Dark Pit immediately slapped Shulk across the face and scowled. “Wake the fuck up!” He screamed before he grabbed Shulk by the collar. “This is a fucking battlefield! Don’t you dare hesitate on the fucking battlefieled! If Pit-stain didn’t save you there, you would have been toasted! Wake the fuck up!” Dark Pit forcefully pushed Shulk back and the dazed seer moved a hand over his chest. 

The vampire lord sneered as he wrapped his cloak around his body, “become one with the shadows already!” With a burst of red light, the vampire turned into a flock of blood red bats. The bats screeched and squealed as they rushed forward, crimson red wings glowing with sharp edges as they charged at the group. Toon instinctively side-stepped away and using his hookshot, wrapped its chain around Shulk and pulled him aside as well. Pit grabbed Dark Pit and pulled the dark angel from their earlier argument just as the bats screeched past them, barely missing them. 

While Dracula reformed himself, Dark Pit ran back up to Shulk and with a vice-like grip on Shulk’s arm pulled him to face the dark angel. “I don’t care what you are hesitating about, but if you cost us this fight, then you are the fucking hypocrite for not working as a team. Got that nerd-fuck?” Dark Pit snarled before he threw Shulk’s arm down. Shulk lightly rubbed his wrist where he was grabbed and bit his lip. “I-I-” He stopped himself and shook his head. Dark Pit was right, if he hesitated, he would be the burden of the team. “Alright.” He finally choked out as Dracula rose back to his poised stature. 

“You dare fight in my presence? Such foolishness of the mortal kind.” Dracula drawled as he held his cloak out and giant magic circles began to appear on the ground under the group. With a sharp inhale, the group split up once more, Pit and Dark Pit weaving in and out of the pillars, making Dracula shift his gaze between the two fleeing angels as he tried to place magic circles under where he thought they might go, pillars of flame bursting up above the magic circles, burning and scorching. Distracted, a small bomb flew through the air at his face. Just as the sound of sparks reached the vampire lord’s ears, the bomb exploded right in his face. Dusts of gunpowder and smoke flew up and blinded the vampire lord as he tried to wipe his eyes and clear his vision of the smoke and dust. Just as he managed to wipe the gunpowder off his face, a bright blue blade was right in his face as Replica’s blade was slashed across the vampire lord’s face, running a deep cut that scarred across Dracula’s face. 

With a cry of anguish the vampire lord fell to his knees just as Shulk landed right behind the immortal vampire, Replica’s blade glowing with a bright blue light beside him. With a groan, Dracula tipped over and slammed face first into the concrete tiled floor and went still. Pit came out from behind the pillar as he whooped in joy. “Yes! We did it! Thank the goddesses there is not a Phase 2 am I right? We just have to get out of this castle now-” 

He spoke too soon as Dracula suddenly floated up and spread his arms out wide as his body contorted and twisted. His muscles bulky and skin turning from pale white to a sickening shade of green. “Oh of fucking course this has to happen. Good fucking job Pit-stain, you jinxed it yet again.” Dark Pit groaned out before the group quickly regrouped again. Menacing golden horns grew and jutted out of Dracula’s head as his white hair fell, dropping from his skull in place of green scales. His fingers curving and hardening into sharp golden claws as his cloak disappeared, reforming into wings under his large arms. His legs bulked and burst out of his fine clothes, revealing sharp talons. Finally a wicked spear-pointed tail lashed out behind Dracula as he roared out like a beast. 

As the roars echoed and shook the entire throne room, Shulk felt his vision flicker with the ever familiar blue before his eyes as a searing pain shot through his head once more. Staggering, trying his hardest to stand up straight as the nausea punched him straight in the gut. There was no agonizing pain from this vision like when he was fighting Galeem but this vision made his head swim, he could feel himself getting dizzy as the blue covered his vision. His hand released its grip on Replica, opting to jump to his head and grasp his forehead, muffling his whimpers. He felt his head reel in retaliation, screaming and shaking him violently from the inside out. It was horribly disorienting as the vision played out before him. 

He watched as Dracula roared out, his wings spread out wide behind him before he leaped and jumped behind them, his sharp gleaming claws swinging down fast, which the group managed to dodge easily. He saw Dark Pit say something and then get clawed straight in half from the following claw strike that he did not expect. He watched as the dark angel cried out and collapsed in a pool of blood, saw Pit’s body lurch in fear and anger, saw Toon’s face on the verge of tears. He could smell it, the horrible, putrid smell of sour blood. He could feel the dread crawling up his skin. 

_‘Death is inevitable… You should accept it and give up already.’_  
No… No… It never was… I...Wh-Who are you? What is happening to me?  
_‘You still resist this future?’_  
I-I want to change the future! I won’t let them die here!  
_‘... What a foolish vessel.’_  
V-Vessel? Wh-Who are you?  
_‘...’_

“SHULK!”

The nausea and dizzy spell didn’t disappear even when the vision disappeared. Shulk’s mind was in a whirlwind, he remembered the vision and the events that were about to play before him but… something else happened after the vision… What was it? He just could not remember for the life of him. He lurched forward, catching himself on the support of Replica and Dark Pit. The darker angel scowled and hissed, shaking Shulk. “Come on! Fucking pull yourself together!” Dark Pit snarled as Shulk breathed in deeply, clutching his forehead weakly. He didn’t want to argue with Dark Pit… not now.

“M-my vision… He will do two claw strikes, don’t let your guard down.” Shulk managed to wheeze out between trembling lips and grit teeth. Dark Pit squinted hard at the seer with his single red left eye, Pit and Toon gathering around the two, trying to coax Shulk back on his feet. The resoundings crash from behind them made the group jump out of their skin. Dracula roared out as he swung his claws forward in a swift motion, silver serrated claws slicing through the empty air in front of him as the group dodged it by jumping back with ease. “Come on you fucking monster!” Dark Pit taunted. “Where is your aim?” Dark Pit smirked as Dracula immediately retaliated with another fast claw strike, just as Shulk feared. “Pittoo!” Pit cried out as the light angel tackled his darker twin to the floor, the claws barely whiffing right in front of Dark Pit’s face as the two angels crashed into a giant feathery heap on the tiled flooring. The resounding groan and immediate swearing from the corner of the room informed Shulk that the future he saw was averted and he heaved a sigh of relief as Toon ran over to help untangle the two angels. 

Dracula hissed and roared once more as he drew his head back, and with a deep breath sucked up a large volume of air from the area, putting out the candles close to him as his chest expanded with air. Toon recognized that motion, it was similar to what Valoo on Dragon Roost Island would do before spitting fire. Dracula was going to breathe out a very powerful elemental attack. What element was it? Toon had no idea, but he didn’t have a lot of time to ponder on it. He ran up to Shulk and grabbed the seer’s hands and wrapped them around his waist. ‘Hold on tight!’ Toon swiftly signed before he shot his hook shot towards the ceiling, reeling it in as both Toon and Shulk shot towards the ceiling above the ground. With a shrill shout, Toon called out to the angels below. “Run!” Pit was more disoriented than Dark Pit so the arker angel picked up his lighter counterpart and immediately ran to hide behind a pillar just as Dracula released his breath. A giant wave of sparkling blue electricity shot out from his mouth. A giant glistening wave that crackled and fizzled with static energy that made hairs stand on end, its force so powerful that it made the group shudder. 

Silently, the group were glad they had avoided facing that attack head-on and Toon quickly returned himself and Shulk to the floor where they regrouped with the angels as Dracula was trying to recover from that attack. ‘Do you still think we need to attack his head?’ Dark Pit signed, since it would not notify Dracula of their location, unlike if they spoke. ‘No.’ Shulk signed back. ‘I don’t think we have to focus on his head. I think he focused all his attention to strength and power, so he probably has no attention on dodging using mist.’ Shulk made a pretty good point, but it was then that Dark Pit shot his left hand out and grabbed Shulk by the collar. In a hushed whisper, snapped at Shulk. “Wake the fuck up nerd. This is no time to fucking hesitate. You have to use your arts if we want to win this. I have seen you fight before, and this fight is no different. Are you trying to sabotage our fight?” Shulk bit his lip as he shook his head fervently, Toon and Pit waving their arms in concern around the two, trying to break them apart. “I don’t know what you are thinking up there in that obviously busy head of yours.” Dark Pit growled out. “But now is not the time.” He then went into a hushed whisper for just Shulk. “Just fucking talk to me after this and we will solve whatever the fuck is bothering you. Got it?” Shulk’s eyes widened at Dark Pit’s words, never before had he thought Dark Pit had a soft side. “Don’t give me that look… It's just for our integral survival out here!” Dark Pit covered up hotly before a resounding roar broke their up conversation. 

Dracula’s humongous and heaving green body crashed through the pillar that the group hid behind, his piercing and fierce red eyes glowing as he clawed at the group once more, tail whipping dangerously behind him. Simultaneously, the group jumped back and split up to cover more ground around Dracula. Swords and bows drawn as the group began to try damaging Dracula, but their weapons bounced off harmlessly against Dracula’s thick hide. The Demon seemed to grunt in confidence as it continued to swipe at the group, claws raking across the air whenever someone came close to him, each strike barely missing.

“NERD!” Dark Pit called out to Shulk and the Homs froze up. Shulk gripped the hilt of Replica with sweaty, clammy palms as his head began to spin, lost in his tornado of thoughts. He knew his body was changing… something was happening to it and he suspected it to be his arts or maybe it was the Monado itself. His vision hazy and shaky as he slowly lifted his hand in front of him. He watched with quivering lips as the lines slowly ran light blue glows down his skin, illuminating brightly but shaking just like he was. He was scared… scared of his own body. Would he go unconscious forever if he used them now? Would he never wake up again if he fainted from ether deficiency? “SHULK!” Shulk heard Dark Pit scream out his name as the seer’s head snapped up immediately just in time to see Dracula barely nick Toon’s skin, leaving a small cut on the Hylian’s cheek. 

‘You don’t want them to die right? Do you wish to change it? The future.’  
This was a different voice… soothing and calm, less arrogant than the last. Shulk recognised this voice… the same voice that he heard at Makna Forest. It made Shulk relax as he gripped Replica strongly, the lines on his skin glowing brighter and brighter before he flung his blade out beside him. Purple ether burst out from Replica’s blade and the lines of Shulk’s skin began to radiate a lilac colour, soft and vibrant. His left eye a similar shade of lavender as the character for ‘Buster’ shimmered within his now heterochromatic eye. 

“Yes. I do.” Dark Pit was right, for the sake of his friends, he will have to push his hesitations behind him and forge the future where they did not fall to Dracula, bloodied and battered like his visions suggested. 

Dracula breathed in deeply once more, in preparation of another elemental attack and Pit cried out to Dark Pit, “Pittoo! Your orbitars!” The lighter angel called out, putting his bow between his teeth as he grabbed Toon and hid behind the dark angel as Dark Pit scowled but followed the command nonetheless. The guardian orbitars produced yet another mirror or blue tinted with yellow shimmering amidst the dim surroundings of the throne room. With a roar, Dracula let out a breath of fireballs, each sphere blowing with a bright vermillion colour, which bounced off the barrier and slammed into Dracula, covering him in flames. With a howl, the demon clawed at his own face and body trying to put out the flames that engulfed him. “Seems like you are finally listening to me. About fucking time.” Dark Pit hissed with a smirk on his face as Shulk leaped out from behind the shielded group. 

Replica felt light in his grip, he could feel his body shift once more, as he let his arm swing out in front of him, Shulk breathed in slowly. The iridescent purple blade sliced right through Dracula’s hardened hide, Shulk felt no resistance as he carved a giant incision across Dracula’s chest. A burst of dark purple dust mist and blood began to spit out from the injury as Dracula screeched in pain, claws leaping to his wounded chest, grasping and clawing at it, face painted in pure shock despite his beastly features. Shulk landed safely on ground as he held Replica in front of him and Dracula hissed and snarled at the seer, his gargled and drowned voice amidst animalistic sounds echoing out. “How dare you! How did you hurt me!” Shulk flung Replica before him, a trail of purple ether energy lingering in the air for a split second. “It's the power of the Monado that lies within me!” 

With a howl, Dracula instantly leaped backwards away from Shulk and spat out three ghostly spirits. Each ghostly spirit cloaked in a pale purple colour, their ghastly and tortured faces screaming with the wails of the underworld, shrill and almost unbearable. Their tormented souls released such heavy energy that it caused the group to flinch. The ghosts suddenly rushed towards the group, each of the three spirits chasing after the group on their own as they twisted and turned through the air before shooting towards the group like a bullet. There was no time or space to react, dodge or even block… they... they-

_‘The Monado… shall be released from its shackles.’_  
Shulk felt something stir within him, he felt the ether fold and bend to his will. His head suddenly struck with a sudden pain that caused him to stumble on his step as he gingerly clutched at his aching chest. It burned and he could feel his lungs getting crushed. His heart wanted to cry out, screaming in agony and threatening to destroy him from the inside out. “Shackles?” He hissed out between grit teeth. 

_‘The Monado bends to the will of its master… if you wish to save them… Then imagine it… You have the power now…Become the armour that shall protect them and eat your enemies up...’_  
The seer hardened his heart and pushed his doubts and hesitation to the back of his mind in the moment as he brought up his weapon. “Armour!” He cried out as he flung out Replica in a wide arc around him. 

The ether began to gather around Shulk in a luminescent orange shimmer, collecting and condensing around him as the lines on Shulk’s skin began to shift from purple to orange. His left eye began to shift as he wheeled through his arts, from the purple ‘Buster’ to the black ‘Eater’ and finally landed on ‘Armour’. With another cry, Shulk raised Replica up towards the sky as the ether hardened into a giant shield around the entire party. The ghostly spirits slammed into the ether barrier with their high pitched screeches before they bounced off the barrier harmlessly. Dracula exploded in sheer rage and fury as he dashed up himself, slamming his body weight, raking his claws and whipping his tail against the giant ether barrier. Yet no matter what he did, the barrier glimmering with orange ether energy barely even saw a dent, let alone a scratch. 

“I can’t hold it up for any longer… the rest is up… to you…” Shulk’s weak voice managed to whisper out before the ether barrier dispersed into a burst of ether sparks, burning Dracula’s skin and causing the demon to step back with an agonized hiss. With their battle cries, Toon, Pit and Dark Pit leaped out at Dracula, stabbing their weapons straight into the distracted Dracula’s open chest. Their weapons sank deep into the wound that Shulk managed to open up earlier, cutting deeper into the Demon Lord’s ghastly green skin. With a screech roar and almost unbearable screams of human mixed with beast, Dracula began to explode from the inside, purple dust bursting from his wound as he flailed his arms and wings about in a frenzy. 

“Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!” He screeched out before he froze. In a final burst of purple mist, the Vampire Lord exploded into a bright purple shockwave that sent the three attackers tumbling straight into Shulk, who lay unconscious on the ground. The lingering smoke and purple dust danced upon the carpet, illuminating the carpet like confetti before disappearing into nothing, leaving silence in the throne room. With hurried gasps, Toon and Pit hurried to try and cram ether crystals down Shulk’s throat but were stopped by violent lurches. The ground shook and rumbled, candle lights flickering and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling began to sway from side to side in a violent manner as crashing was heard, shattering pierced the silence. “Get the fuck down and hold on!” Dark Pit yelled out as he threw himself over the group, wrapping his left wing over them as the castle flooring gave way beneath them. 

As Dracula’s castle slowly began to crumble into dust, the group could not even bask in the glory of victory as the darkness consumed their senses once more. 

_‘I have released the shackles… the final arts of the Monado... Soon, very soon… How my soul quivers in anticipation...’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Eater' and 'Armour' are the Monado Arts unlocked via Side Questing in Xenoblade Chronicles, along with 'Purge' and 'Cyclone' but these latter two are story gained Monado Arts. But they aren't in Smash... how on earth did they get there?


	17. A Broken Child's Distorted Toy Room

### Chapter 17: A Broken Child’s Distorted Toy Room

‘Hello there Shulk. I have been waiting for you.’ 

His head hurt and Shulk fought for the strength to lift it up. His eyes blinked slowly, watching the stars around him glimmer and twinkle. Gaze shifting between the planets that floated on their orbits around a giant glowing ball of fire, each one of a distinct size, colour and look. He did not recognize those planets… let alone this space he was in. He felt dazed by the stars that surrounded him and wanted to just lie there watching them more, but once again the voice coaxed him up. 

‘You don’t have to worry. We are alone in this space here.’ 

Shulk shook his head, putting his hands to his forehead and finally gathering the strength and energy to push himself off the… there was no ground but there was solid resistance underneath him as he floated above the endless void of space. Shulk brought his gaze towards the figure that stood before him. With tan skin, stunning silver hair with equally piercing silver eyes, the figure wore a long sleeved purple jacket with a fur collar. On his neck was a choker from which a small red crystal hung from. Glimmering and striking amidst his more purple-based clothing choice. 

‘It's good to see you again Shulk.’ 

“Alvis.” Shulk whispered out as he held a weak hand to his throat, his voice was dry and weak, almost like he had not drank water in days. His body felt heavy and lethargic. He belatedly noticed that his body did not have those blue lines he had grown familiar with and feared. The lines of the Monado did not paint his skin, instead he looked just like he was before Galeem’s takeover. Shulk ran his fingers up his arms, even looking at his legs and placing a finger on his cheek. The lines were gone. 

‘The Monado cannot reach this far into your mind.’ 

Alvis seemed to read his mind as Shulk turned his attention back to the mysterious man. “Alvis… what is going on? Where are we?” The silver seer hummed for a bit before he chuckled slightly. ‘We are in the deepest regions of the Passage of Fate. A space where fate and destiny intersect, a place where the cycle of creation and destruction lies at the core of the Bionis and the Mechonis. And also, the place where your visions are seen.’ Alvis returned his striking gaze towards Shulk as he walked closer to the Visionary. 

‘Tell me, Shulk. Do you know the tale of the Bionis and the Mechonis?’ The question posed to Shulk was an odd one and he could not wrap his head around why Alvis would ask him that. His mind was like a flock of birds set to flight in a haphazard manner, so he numbly responded. “Yes.” he took a breath. “Long ago, the world was nothing but an endless sea, cloaked in a boundless sky, reaching as far as could possibly be imagined. Then two great titans came into existence: the Bionis and the Mechonis. The titans were locked in a timeless battle, until at last, only their lifeless corpses remained. Since then, eons have passed and that was when the Bionis was under attack by the Mechon-” Shulk was interrupted by Alvis who stopped him with a gesture. 

‘Have you ever wondered about what the Bionis and the Mechonis were?’ Alvis asked suddenly again. Shulk shot Alvis a puzzled look as he pondered on the question, he couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t curious, because he totally was. “No I have never wondered… but what do you mean by that?” Alvis seemed to chuckle as he held his arms on his waist. ‘Allow me to tell you the story of the souls of the Bionis and the Mechonis.’ Alvis relaxed and coaxed Shulk to do so as well. ‘Worry not, no one can hear us here. The Passage of Fate has granted you the time to listen to this tale.’

* * *

Dark Pit groaned as he rubbed his face against the rough and sharp rocky earth, bruising his face and leaving red patches all over his skin. The dark angel hissed as he managed to peel his eye open, looking around, Dark Pit noticed how he was being crushed under the combined weights of Pit, Toon and Shulk all piled on top of him in that order. The dark angel groaned and let his head lie back on the ground once more, attempting to wriggle his way out of the pile to no avail. He bit his lip slightly as he attempted to move his left wing that was crushed under his weight, relief coursing through his body when he could still feel and move it. 

Squirming a little bit more, Dark Pit managed to untangle his left arm from the pile and with a deep breath he heaved and tried to pull himself out from under the pile. Yet, his one arm and body covered in abrasions was not enough to free himself from under all this weight. Sighing in defeat Dark Pit collapsed on the ground once more, groaning and cursing under his breath. After a few moments of cursing, Dark Pit reached out and slapped Pit right across the face, causing the light angel to shoot up wide awake. 

“OW!” Pit yelped as the lighter angel shot up and immediately caused the entire pile to collapse onto the ground with a giant crash, throwing up a large cloud of dust into their faces. Coughing and fanning the dust away from his face, Dark Pit smirked as he finally could stretch himself, free of the weight that pinned him down. Pushing himself off the ground, Dark Pit staggered his way to Pit who was still in the midst of rubbing at his sore cheek where he was slapped across the face. “Man the fuck up Pit-stain.” Dark Pit hissed out at his lighter image. “It was just a slap.” 

“It still hurtsss…” Pit whined as Dark Pit dismissed him with a huff and moved over to Shulk. The seer was still unconscious and the blue light stemming from the lines on his skin were starting to fade and flicker. Clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth, Dark Pit rummaged through his satchel and took out a glowing pale blue ether crystal. It was cool to the touch, almost freezing but Dark Pit didn’t have much choice as he shoved the ice ether crystals down Shulk’s throat. The crystal slid down the seer’s throat without much resistance and as his lines began to light up, Dark Pit continued to stuff crystals down the Hom’s system until Toon woke up and offered to do it. 

Still Shulk didn’t seem to wake up, but Dark Pit took charge and assured Toon that Shulk probably just needed time to absorb the ether. Being in charge of this rag-tag bunch of misfits and children felt wrong and almost insulting but Dark Pit swallowed his pride for the time being, since they were the reason that they defeated Dracula. That he couldn’t lie to himself no matter what he did. 

While the other two fussed over Shulk, Dark Pit decided to check out their surroundings. Simply put, they were now in the middle of an old campsite, Lucina’s old campsite. “Lucina isn’t here…” Pit muttered as he helped Toon push Shulk onto some soft bedding that they took out from their satchels. “She must have gone off to the Sacred Grove with Inciner- I mean Torracat.” Dark Pit scowled and gave Pit a nod before he froze and drew his weapon out, there was a shadow moving towards them in this dark realm and Dark Pit was ready to lunge out at them when-

“Yoohoo!” The chipper voice of the sporty Princess Daisy rang out and Dark Pit visibly relaxed as Robin’s team made the turn around the corner where a crystal was. Robin rubbed the back of his head where he had presumably hit his head while Ridley hung from Daisy’s shoulder as the chipper princess bounced her way to the group. “Do you guys need help forcing crystals into Shulk?” Daisy offered with a smile while flexing her arm. Pit shook his head with a wide, warm smile, “No need. We have the situation under control. Shulk seems better in this environment, probably because there is more natural ether in the air.” 

Daisy seemed satisfied as she waved at Robin to catch up, which the tactician did after a while. “We were all fighting puppets when the floor gave out beneath us and Dracula’s Castle collapsed before our eyes. So did you guys-” “Beat him? Of course we fucking did.” Dark Pit snapped back, interrupting Robin who sucked in a breath and nodded. “That’s good. Now we don’t have that much time to discuss but I heard you say that Lucina was here?” Robin raised an eye to Pit who nodded enthusiastically. “We met Lucina here when we first fell into the Dark Realm from that tear in space over there.” Pit gestured vaguely to the giant hole in the dark purple sky. 

“We parted ways to find Dark Pit and Lucina went to the West, to the Sacred Grove area.” Robin hummed and pondered on the information for a moment, he gazed at Daisy who gave him a thumbs up. “I know you are worried about Lucina, so let’s go see her!” She encouraged Robin who nodded and smiled. “Then we will head to the Sacred Grove and back up Lucina to free the puppets in that area.” Robin paused and looked at Pit and Dark Pit. “What about you guys? What will you guys do now?” Pit squinted as he fell into deep thought and Dark Pit groaned. “Pit-stain probably didn’t think past finding me. It’s fine, don’t worry about us. I will be in charge of this bunch of idiots until Shulk wakes up.” Dark Pit waved Robin off. “Just go.” 

Robin drew a hand back and looked at Daisy who helped Toon to cover Shulk up with some warm sheets before standing up. “Let’s go Robin. We have to help her!” Robin sighed and nodded in defeat. “Alright. We will go to the Sacred Grove.” Robin and Daisy looked back at the group and waved, Daisy waving Ridley’s arm against the tiny dragon’s will, “Take care! Please be safe!” They called out before they proceeded across the rickety stone bridge towards the west where the Sacred Grove was. 

With Robin’s group disappearing into the darkness obscuring the West side of the Dark Realm, Dark Pit turned back to Pit with a displeased look painted over his face, disappointment burning in his bright red left eye. “So what do you suppose we do now, Pit-stain?” Dark Pit hissed out between grit teeth. The lighter angel could only shake his head and rub the back of his head in embarrassment. “We… We could uhh…” 

“We can go North.” Came the sudden voice of the seer who finally opened his eyes and was struggling to push himself into a sitting position. Shulk’s head still hurt and was throbbing in slight pain but he found the energy in him to raise his gaze to face the relieved faces of his friends. “Sorry guys, I am alright.” While Pit and Toon seemed satisfied and happy that Shulk was awake, Dark Pit wore a frown on his face, crimson eyes watching… watching carefully as Shulk gingerly pulled the covers off himself, and quickly pulled his clothes over his body. Dark Pit made a clicking noise with his tongue as Shulk finally managed to stagger to a stand. 

“The north?” Dark Pit huffed out, not taking his eye off Shulk who nodded slowly. “Yeah… the north is where the Mysterious Dimension is. Lucina told us before.” Shulk supplied as Pit snapped his fingers together. “Right! Lucina told us there was the northern area. She didn’t go there so it's safe to assume that maybe there are other people there who need support!” Pit realised as he nodded in agreement. “Let’s go North!” Dark Pit raised his eye at Pit. “Even though we don’t know anything about the northern area of the Dark Realm?” Pit nodded with pure excitement, complemented by Toon’s own curious expression and pleas. “Yeah it's more fun that way!” A groan of defeat.

With that agreement, Pit helped Toon pack up the sheets before they ensured Shulk ate a few more ether crystals to replenish his ether. After all that was settled, the group marched North.

* * *

It was safe to say that Pit and Toon did not enjoy mazes. While the latter distracted himself by running around, poking every weird and strange tile or texture he came across, the former had a bored look painted all over his features. The two more child-like members of the group were not having fun figuring out the twists and dead-ends of the maze-like environment, which annoyed them and they were venting out that frustration on Shulk and Dark Pit. Pit kept hounding Dark Pit, shaking his darker counterpart while asking “Are we there yet?” “When will we get there?” “How much longer?” With every question asked, Dark Pit progressively got more and more snappy with every response. It eventually devolved to Dark Pit shoving his map to Shulk as he began to wave his arm wildly while screaming curses at Pit. 

Shulk shuddered as he watched the two angels argue it out and he chose not to interfere. He didn’t want to, it didn’t feel right. What if he tried to stop them and it just drove them further apart? Shulk couldn’t take it, he didn’t want to get involved, not right now. Perhaps later, when everything was settled, he would take them out to a place for them to make up together. Shulk felt Toon tug at his sleeve and he looked down at Toon who looked up at him with wide eyes flooded with concern before gesturing slowly at Shulk’s lines. Shulk watched as the lines slowed and stuttered, showing his uncertainty before he pulled his sleeves further down and smiled weakly at Toon. 

Pulling up the map, Shulk ran a finger over Dark Pit’s crudely drawn charts, personally he would have done a better job but Dark Pit had insisted on drawing the map despite his left hand not being his dominant hand. To add on to that, Shulk didn’t want to sour the darker angel’s mood further, seeing how visibly mad Dark Pit was. Shulk traced over a section of the northern area where they had yet to explore and bent down to get Toon’s opinion. The seafarer had a thing about navigation, but not about mazes, so map reading was something that the little Hylian was definitely capable of. After contemplating with Shulk, Toon signed the affirmative. 

When Shulk turned to where the angels were bickering to see if they were done fighting, he froze. On one hand, Pit and Dark Pit were still locked in conflict, with Dark Pit screaming at Pit about patience and the like, but on the other hand? Well that was the problem, a hand. A Crazy Hand copy had somehow managed to silently sneak up on the group, his wriggling fingers outstretched, ready to grab, pound and crush the bickering angels into pancakes. Shulk’s voice was caught in his throat and Toon was way too slow to throw any weapon to deter Crazy Hand. The angels were-

**BANG!**

The loud shrill sound of a gun being fired rang through the air from behind Shulk, the metal bullet flying through the air and piercing Crazy Hand right through his palm. The loud agony filled cries of the hand echoed through the skies and instantly stopped Pit and Dark Pit in whatever argument they were having. Shulk instinctively turned around to see who had fired the shot, but before he could, he heard them speak first. “The rest is up to you, Teach.” A smooth voice, young and cool. 

A female’s voice pierced the air, filling the shock with her battlecry as a figure ran past Shulk and Toon and jumped into the air, swinging a giant flaming axe in a giant arc. “AYMR!” She cried out as the rugged, serrated edge of the axe dug deep into the back of Crazy Hand, ripping through his glove and smashing him down into the ground with the weight and force of her axe swing. Crazy Hand let out a loud scream before exploding into a cloud of purple dust that scattered across the earth like shimmering confetti. “Just in time.” The axe wielder breathed out deeply as she swung the axe onto her shoulder with a grin. 

Wavy blue that grew a little past her shoulders, dressed in choice pieces of armour and leggings with flower-patterns, she wore a black jacket over her shoulders like a cape as she also wielded a sword, old and cracked on her hip. With striking blue eyes turning to face the group and skin as pale as snow. “Are you guys alright?” She gasped out as she ran to the two dumbfounded angels and cupped Dark Pit’s face in her palms. “Did you hurt your eye, we need to fix it up-” Dark Pit instinctively slapped her hands away with a scowl. “Don’t touch me. It's fine. We aren’t hurt.”

“But those bandages…” She whispered in a hush breath Pit waved his right arm around her assuringly. “It's fine! We aren’t hurt! Thank you for saving us from Crazy Hand.” Pit grinned widely and warmly, which was enough for the female mercenary to relax and smile back slightly. Shulk took in a sharp breath of relief as he turned around to face the other one who had come along with the female weapon master. Jumping from the plateau and landing gracefully on the ground next to them, wild black hair and dark grey eyes that were slightly obscured by a white mask on his youthful face. He wore a long tailcoat that stretched all the way down to his ankles, accompanied by a high-necked waistcoat accented with gold, shiny polished black shoes and finally his red gloved hands held a shiny black gun. “That’s another one down, Teach. I’d say we gave these guys a mighty big hand.” The young Phantom Thief smirked, only earning a groan from the female mercenary, Dark Pit and Shulk. 

“Who are you guys-” Shulk began only to be cut off by the young teen, “We will answer in a bit.” the young teen hushed Shulk into a silence before glancing left and right, the female weapon master doing the same before they both nodded in agreement. “We just have to make sure there are no other Crazy Hands in the vicinity.” The young teen smiled cheekily before holding out a hand to Shulk. “My name is Akira Kurusu. You can call me Joker.” Shulk chuckled slightly and took Joker’s hand firmly. “Shulk.” He introduced himself before waving at Toon. “That is Toon Link, but you can call him Toon… but he won’t respond.” Joker lifted an eye to Shulk who merely laughed weakly and signed something to Toon so Joker could get the message and nodded in understanding. 

“My name is Byleth.” The female mercenary introduced herself with a bow. Pit smiled and shook her hand with his right strongly. “My name is Pit, servant to the Goddess of Light Palutena and this here is Pittoo-” “Dark Pit.” The referred dark angel hissed out. “Servant to no other but myself.” Byleth nodded and looked between the two similar looking angels, before turning her attention to Shulk, Joker and Toon who rejoined them. “Both Byleth and I are one of the newer warriors invited to join the Smash Universe, so it's a pleasure to meet you all. Though I assume, albeit not in the best of conditions.” Joker mused with a cheeky smile before he waved them off. Byleth chuckled a little. “We broke off from the main group to come here to clear the Crazy Hands and the puppets in the Dark Realm. Good thing we saw you on our way back to the World of Light to regroup with the rest of the Newer Invitees.” 

“Well it's nice to see that we have other new people helping to save this world!” Pit chimed in with his signature optimism, earning a laugh from Joker. Shulk pondered on their story for a moment before he narrowed his eyes at both Byleth and Joker, trying to ascertain something. Byleth seemed to catch his gaze as she nodded slowly. “If you were wondering, yes. Even if we are new invitees to this universe, we were still cursed at the hands of Galeem and Dharkon.” Byleth held a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. “I lost connection to the Girl that sits on a throne in my head, the goddess of my home, Sothis. Along with the power that comes with her presence.” Byleth relayed somberly. Joker shook his head, looking a little upset in turn. “I cannot summon my Persona, the manifestation of my inner self, though I won’t bore you with the details. Simply put I can only use a gun and my daggers.” Joker then smirked at Shulk who looked at him with utmost curiosity. 

“So you guys didn’t escape unscathed too huh…” Pit’s wing drooped behind his back as he pouted. “Only Kirby is safe.” Byleth replied as she placed her fingers on her chin in thought. “We were just about to return back to Kirby who is helping to free puppets in the World of Light when we bumped into you guys.” She paused and looked at the group. “Where exactly are you guys headed?” Shulk wanted to reply but Toon beat him to it, with his tiny wavering voice that varied in volume. “North! We are- going north! Mysterious dimension.” The little little Hylian’s tongue tripped on itself a few times that made both Byleth and Joker hold back a snicker, and then calmed themselves. “I see, so you guys are headed for the portal. If you wish, we know the way through this maze towards the portal so we can take you there.” Byleth offered and the group immediately jumped on board the idea, relieved that they didn’t have to go through this annoying maze blindly.

Joker looked over at Shulk while Byleth stated the offers, his sharp grey eyes watching the seer carefully for a moment before the seer turned to face the Phantom Thief, Shulk’s battle sense acute enough to feel Joker’s stare on his back. “Wh-what is it?” Shulk muttered out before Joker seemed to hum in thought. “Shulk… Could it be? Do you happen to know these spirits?” Joker reached behind him into the small bag hidden by his trenchcoat to pull out six different glittering orbs. Each swirling with a different colour but also the silhouette of six different spirits: Fiora, Reyn, Dunban, Sharla, Melia and Riki. Shulk let out a gentle gasp and looked at Joker with wide turquoise eyes. His voice was stuck for a moment before he managed to choke out. “H-How did you-” Joker hushed him with a cheeky smile. “A Phantom Thief has his own ways and means to gather information about our targets. Byleth and I managed to subdue the puppets that trapped these spirits while traversing the World of Light.” 

Joker juggled the spirit orbs lightly in his palms, throwing them up and down in an amused manner. “I will give them to you, but it isn’t going to be free.” He whispered, a wry grin painted on his face as he smirked at Shulk, young and cocky. Shulk’s face fell instantly, he didn’t have much to offer back to Joker in return… but they were the spirit orbs of his friend, he just had to get them back. “I-I…” Shulk swallowed the hard lump in his throat, mind whirring with options and thoughts trying to think of what he could do when Joker suddenly started laughing. The cheeky Phantom Thief then caught Shulk’s attention with a snap of his fingers. “I kid.” Joker smirked as he passed the six spirit orbs to Shulk who stared at him dumbfounded. “I won’t do that to someone as fragile as you.” Joker smiled mischievously at Shulk who visibly relaxed and held the spirit orbs closer to his chest and heart. “Thank you.” Shulk managed to choke out while holding back the tears that built up behind his eyes. He refused to cry not now, but holding the warm spirit orbs of his friends and comrades from the Bionis… it gave him a sort of comfort he knew he was missing.

Something to anchor him down. Something to remind himself that he was Shulk. He was Shulk. He was not anyone else. Right?

“Are you guys coming?” Pit called out to Shulk and Joker from ahead, waving at them with his right hand and an optimistic grin. Joker gave Shulk a hearty pat on the back before the two ran up to catch up with the rest of the group. “Just remember to repay me when all this blows over.” Joker winked at Shulk, the seer weakly laughing at Joker. “Yeah, I will be sure to return the favour.” 

With the help of Byleth and Joker, the group managed to traverse through the maze of the northern region with ease. Through windy roads, over bridges made of stone, metal and debris of many kinds, Joker and Byleth confidently led the group through the confusing terrain. Shulk admitted to himself that if they were left on their own, they probably would have been stuck in the maze for weeks. While he was infinitely curious about this and was willing to spend the time to explore every inch of this terrain, something inside him felt that it was a waste of time. It felt weird but he pushed it aside once more in favour of keeping up with the group. Subconsciously pulling his jumper down over his body and making sure his sleeves didn’t roll up past his upper arm. 

Soon the ever familiar column of light was before their very eyes, this time glowing with a dark pink mixed with hints of purple and a myriad of other colours. The portal to the Mysterious Dimension. Joker and Byleth stopped right in front of the portal and turned to the group. “This is where the portal to the Mysterious Dimension is. I guess… it's also where we part ways for now.” Byleth announced to the dismay of Pit. “Wh-what? You guys aren’t coming with us? You two are really super strong!” Byleth and Joker shook their heads. “We promised to meet up with Kirby and the others before we all come to the Dark Realm. Strength in numbers. So we have to go and report what is happening here.” Joker mused as he put his gloved fingers to his chin. 

Pit looked visibly disappointed and Toon who had gotten used to Byleth by then was terribly upset as he tried to tug at the female instructor’s jacket, showing his signature puppy eyes to try and convince the female mercenary to stay. Despite all their pleas, Joker and Byleth declined, insisting that they had to meet up with Kirby’s team to bring them all here to storm the Dark realm together. 

“We promise to meet again.” Both Joker and Byleth promised, pinky swearing with the young Toon Link who wiped his tears as Pit interpreted for him. Running towards Byleth and Joker, he hugged them, in choked and hushed cries, “It’s a promise!” 

Shulk felt a pang in his heart. Toon was young and small, he probably wasn’t suited for something as heavy like this even if he was a hero of his own right- “He is strong. I am sure you realize that.” Dark Pit suddenly grunted out next to Shulk, causing the Visionary to jump out of his skin, his lines buffering and flickering in response. Dark Pit huffed at Shulk’s reaction, “Unlike a certain someone, he is strong enough to let people know what he is thinking and rely on others. Unlike a certain fucking nerd, he is actually honest, what do you think?” Dark Pit jabbed at Shulk and Shulk winced a little in response as he hung his head in shame. 

The group said their heavy hearted goodbyes to Byleth and Joker before the group entered the portal. “Good luck! We will see you soon!” They heard the two call out behind them before they fell into the swirling purple light.

* * *

Pit was the first one to stumble through the portal and out of it. As the lighter angel blinked away the purple spots in his vision, he let out a gasp, which caught the attention of the group who finally managed to catch up to the more excited of the two angels. “This place is crazy! It’s almost like we walked into a distorted toy room!” PIt exclaimed as he gestured wildly at the world before them with his only working right arm. 

It was hard to describe in words what the scenery before them was, according to Shulk, especially with how messy and chaotic it was. Floating islands of twisted hues of random colours, debris strewn all over the place that hovered above an endless void, roots and vines that grew out from the gaping darkness beneath them and from each solid platform stretched bridges of stars and mist that were tinged with a rainbow of colours. 

While Shulk tried to comprehend and logically understand the scenery before him, Pit and Dark Pit were trying their hardest to hold back Toon from running head-first to walk on the bridges of stars to the next floating island. But to be fair, Toon was quite a strong little hyperactive child and the notion of a new and so curious world was triggering the little Hylain’s hero and exploration-fanatic instinct. After a bit of struggling, Toon managed to wrench himself free from Pit and Dark Pit and rushed onto the bridge of stars. Despite the cries of the angel behind him, Toon landed with both feet on the bridge of stars that immediately acted like a slippery slide and whisked him away to the other island like a fun ride. 

The squeals of Toon echoed across the dimension and snapped Shulk out of his trance, shifting his focus to Toon who had made it over to the other island in a spectacular display. It reminded him of the ice physics back on the Bionis, with how fast Toon slid across the bridge of stars. Seeing that Toon was safe, the angels relaxed visibly and they collected themselves before following in Toon’s footsteps, traversing across the bridges of stars from floating island to floating island with ease. The dimension, though seemingly small, was… quiet… too quiet… Well quiet until something rang out in the distance. It sounded very soft, like a rumble of a beast’s roars. It was hard to pinpoint from where the group was at the moment. 

It caused a shiver down Shulk’s spine and he quickly moved to smoothen down the hairs on his arm, along with trying to calm his emotions before the Monado lines betrayed him again. “What was that?” Pit asked as he held Toon back from progressing any further. “It sounded like a monster. Either that or a beast.” Dark Pit muttered out between grit teeth. “It might be the boss of the area. We better be careful.” The group nodded in unison as they made their careful travel across the next star bridge onto the next floating island. 

They slowly made their way across the mazes of the islands and were about to step onto the next star bridge to progress onwards when there was a shift in the stale air and a rustle of footsteps behind them. Whipping around, weapons drawn immediately, the group held the sharp ends of their weapons at the cluster of trees and roots. After a moment of stilled silence, a voice called out. “Calm yourself. We are not your enemies.” A deep husky voice called out. “Lower your weapons.” Walking out of the bushes was a silver wolf walking on two legs and an eyepatch over his eye. “Wolf!” Pit exclaimed out as he immediately lowered his Palutena Bow, Wolf giving the angel a smirk. “Good to see you are still alive angel-face.” Wolf chuckled as he clicked his tongue towards the bush, “I am sure you will recognize this guy too.” Pushing past the bushes was a sturdy looking youth with wild blue hair that was reigned in by a bandanna around his forehead. With light-armour on his body and a large golden sword by his sword he silently waved at Pit. “Ike!” Pit grinned as he ran up to the two and hugged them tight. “Man am I glad to see you two are alright!” 

“Now angel-face, remember. I don’t like this skinship.” Wolf growled out and Pit immediately released the two. “Oops sorry.” Pit rubbed the back of his head in shame as Ike shook his head, “It's alright Pit. It’s pretty much just Wolf.” Wolf looked up at Ike with a flabbergasted face. “Sh-shut up!” After giving Ike a joking jab in the side, Wolf turned to Pit and his team. “What are you guys doing here? Why are you headed that way?” 

Pit tilted his head to the side in confusion and Dark pit let out a snort. “Well of-fucking-course we are going this way because thats probably where the boss of this area is. The faster we defeat the boss, the faster we can beat that fucker Dharkon’s ass in.” While Ike looked like he wanted to ask who Dharkon was, Wolf interrupted that by howling out, “You guys are insane! There is a rampaging beast over there! You will get yourselves killed!”

“Rampaging beast…” Shulk muttered to himself as he lost himself in thought. Where had he-?

“Rampaging Beast? That’s probably just the boss then.” Dark Pit huffed out as he stopped a moment in his attempt to interpret for Toon. “And you guys are cowards from running from it.” Ike shook his head. “It’s not that we are running away from it. We just don’t want to hurt it. It’s not the bo-” Dark Pit spluttered out in disbelief at the two, fury and disappointment evident in his crimson eyes. “What do you mean you don’t want to hurt it? If it’s a beast that must be subdued then fucking subdue it! You utter fucking cowards!” Dark Pit snapped out before being shut up by Pit covering Dark Pit’s mouth up. Struggling with the darker angel, Pit turned to Ike and Wolf, “What do you mean it’s not the boss?” 

“That beast… it's probably Corrin.” Ike explained with a dark expression. “I think he lost control of himself and is going on a rampage. He can’t tell friend from foe and attacks anything that moves in his vicinity. We don’t want to hurt him nor do we want to put ourselves in necessary danger.” Pit bit his lip, Ike had a point. “Then we will go and calm Corrin down.” Shulk suddenly piped up, causing all eyes to turn on him. The seer suddenly felt uncomfortable with all the eyes and pressure on him but he swallowed down the fear in his throat to continue. “I saw it in my vision. A giant silver dragon roaring in pain. So I think we can do something to save him.” 

Pit and Toon smiled at Shulk, Ike and Wolf looked stunned but after regaining themselves they nodded. “Take the bridge over there to the next island, that’s the island that Corrin is currently rampaging on. Be careful out there.” Wolf warned as Pit turned back to the canine bounty hunter. “What about you?” Wolf smirked and crossed his arms. “We gotta go and find Meta Knight and the rest. We are part of a larger group, but we came here to observe Corrin’s movements, since ironically he is blocking our way to the last area we have yet to explore. We will join you guys later to fight the boss once Corrin is settled.” Pit nodded in understanding as he watched Shulk walk with Toon to the edge of the star bridge. After saying his parting words to Wolf and Ike, Pit joined the rest of his team at the bridge and waved back. After receiving encouragement from Wolf and Ike, the group jumped onto the star bridge as the stale air rushed past their face as they travelled towards the next island. 

Landing safely on the solid ground of the floating island that Corrin was supposed to be based on, the group drew out their weapons in precaution, moving around slowly, each of their gazes running across the terrain, scrutinizing and waiting for anything to move or jump out at them. Tension and silence thick in the air as the group moved around as a huddled group, backs to each other. 

_Click… Click… Click... _

The soft ticking sounds of clicking began to fill the air the further the group explored the island. Dark Pit was the first to notice the weird noise and stopped the group in their tracks with a hiss and wave of his Silver Bow. Toon felt a shift in the air and quickly pinpointed the location of the sound they heard, even if he could not hear it himself. The clicking noises began to grow louder and louder as the group faced the direction from whence it came from and held their breaths. 

Slowly moving out of the shadows was a majestic beast. Silver scales that glittered in the slight glow of crystals that lit up the dimension, shining beautifully as the light bounced off its smooth and sturdy armour. Wide wings made of similar grey scales that had a horn at the tip of its joint. Menacingly curved horns adorned it’s head, sharp and glistening, tail swinging dangerously behind the dragon as its black claws clicked against the ground. Click… Click… Click…

“That’s quite a cute sound actually.” The words spilled out of Pit’s mouth and the angel immediately slapped his right hand over his mouth when Dark Pit and Shulk gave him a sharp and shocked look respectively. The dragon’s head snapped towards their direction as a snarl left its jaws. “Grrrrr….” 

“This isn’t good… is it?” Pit muttered out, only to earn a very sharp response from Dark Pit. “No shit Pit-stain.” Without further warning, the giant silver dragon changed at the group, wings spread out wide as it leaped and bounded at the group, jaws parted to reveal sharp shiny silver teeth with their serrated edges. Before they managed to chomp down on the group, Toon lit a bomb and threw it at the dragon, the bomb exploding into a cloud of dusty gunpowder that caused the dragon to flinch and miss the group by an inch. The Dragon coughed and shook its head, ridding of the dust that covered its vision. Though it didn’t have eyes, Shulk assumed it probably had heat detectors like other reptiles did to make up for the lack of sight, like a magic aura sense. 

The dragon reared its head as its jaws parted, a giant ball of water condensing, drawing in energy from the surroundings began to form and collected between the dragon’s jaws, sparking with electricity that crackled with static. “Heads up!” Pit cried out as the group rolled away just in time as the dragon shot the ball at them. The giant ball of water crashed into the ground, creating a giant crater with how much force as water flooded the crater, crackling with sparks of electricity. Shaking its head the dragon snarled and charged horns-first at Toon who was the slowest to recover from his roll. The rumbles in the earth from the dragon’s strides caught Toon’s attention and with a squeal of fear, Toon raised his shield and braced himself. 

“Purge!” The voice of the seer rang out as a pale green energy, paler than the vibrant green of ‘Jump’ art, enveloped the dragon, causing the dragon to suddenly grunt out and slam its horns into the ground adjacent to Toon, barely missing the young Hylian. Shulk breathed in deeply to control his aching body as he used a free hand to reach for some ether crystals to swallow. “I sealed- its detection sight- aura.” Shulk muttered between breaths, trying to cope with the splitting headache he was experiencing while downing ether crystals to stave off the repercussions. “It will only hold for a while, so everyone all together now!” 

“GRAAAAWWWWRRR!” The dragon roared out, thrashing about in its blinded state trying to hit anything or anyone. Pit and Dark Pit had exceptional reaction and kinetic vision as they skillfully and gracefully avoided the dragon’s wild movements, claws, tails and wings before they slid under the dragon, using their bows to trip the dragon. With a pained roar, the dragon fell onto the ground with a giant thud from the imbalance. All eyes on Toon was enough sign for Toon to act. 

Throwing his shield aside, Toon leaped towards the toppled dragon and with his clawshot in hand, used the chain to quickly tie up the dragon’s feet together. With the help of Shulk who came to pull the heavy chain with the young Hylian, they tied up the dragon’s legs up in a nice knot. The dragon still struggled, heaved and snarled in its binds, its wings and tail still lashing about wildly. “We need to calm him down!” Shulk called out to the angels and with a nod, the two angels responded with actions of their own. Dark Pit locked the dragon’s head by stabbing his Silver Bow’s two halves into the earth around the dragon’s neck to form a makeshift cuff while Pit threw his whole weight onto the dragon’s tail to hold it down. Still the dragon continued to struggle, dust clouds thrown up as it pained snarls and growls continued to echo and ring through the air. A horn barely missed Dark Pit’s nose when the dragon’s head tried to untangle itself.

“Hey stop! Control yourself! Open your fucking eyes! It’s us!” Dark Pit cried out as he slapped a hand right across the dragon’s face. The dragon was slapped right across the face and the dragon suddenly froze. Shulk, Pit and Toon (after some time) looked up at Dark Pit as the darker angel began to shout and curse at the dragon. “Look around you! Listen to me! You fucking bitchass think you can go around hurting others willy-nilly when they are trying to help you? You ungrateful little fucking reptile!” Dark Pit insulted over and over again as the dragon finally began to calm down. Well not really. Shulk noticed how the dragon was quivering, shaking which slowly turned into violent shivers. Lines upon lines of insults spilled from Dark Pit’s mouth until Toon ran up to the darker angel to pull at Dark Pit’s chiton, shaking his head. “Corrin… he already…” Toon gestured at the shivering dragon as Dark Pit finally stopped spewing his curses. 

The dragon dipped its head, trying to hide its face in the dirt as very soft guttural sounds echoed from its throat. The dragon’s body shook ever more violently as it began to shrink down, the long neck retracting back towards its body as its scales disappeared into soft pale skin. The horns on its head shrunk down but didn’t disappear as its grey scales were replaced by silver white hair, wide dragon jaws shrinking into human lips lined with serrated sharp teeth. Claws slowly shrinking down into human hands and feet, albeit with sharp nails that looked way too sharp and way too long to be counted as normal. Pit soon found himself face-first in the butt of the semi-human-dragon Corrin who wore nothing but a very torn and tattered thin layer of black body suit that was barely clinging to Corrin’s thin frame and his cape that was still miraculously intact attached to his shoulders. 

Corrin looked vaguely human, well as vague as vague could be with his dragon horns, wings, tail and claws still very much intact in his human form. But he wasn’t a feral dragon anymore. Shulk could not pinpoint what was more effective, the fact that they managed to subdue Corrin or whether it was Dark Pit’s insults. He concluded it was probably a combined effort of the both as he quickly helped Pit away from his shock from finding himself face-first in Corrin’s butt. A sudden chill touched the air and a voice that echoed through their minds. 

‘I am sorry… my blood… I am… so sorry…’

The group looked shocked and immediately turned to Corrin, but no one was more surprised than Toon whose eyes began to shake, quiver and become shiny with tears forming. Big fat tears rolling down the young Hylian’s face slowly as he kneeled next to the chained up Corrin. Slowly, eyes of sharp red with a very slight tinge of blue around the thin pupils began to flutter open. Mouth parting slowly to show his sharp teeth before an animalistic growl escaped Corrin’s lips and he immediately drew in a sharp cold breath. He dug his face into earth upon hearing himself as another voice echoed through the group’s minds. ‘I am sorry… I can’t… I can’t speak... My voice…’ 

“Let’s get him patched up.” Dark Pit broke the silence and stood up, facing the group with a fire alight in his own crimson eye. “We can listen to him when he is rested up. Plus he needs some clothes to cover himself up or another idiot like Pit-stain will find themselves in his bare butt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took 17 chapters, 17 fucking chapters, for this guy to show up. So everyone say hi to Mister 'Took 17 Chapters to Show Up' Corrin.
> 
> Corrin is basically feral. As a curse, his Dragon Blood became more concentrated so he is technically 75% Dragon and 25% Human, hence his more dragon-like appearance. He can't speak in human tongue but he can speak using dragon magic by sending his thoughts directly to those he wishes to converse with. His instincts is a lot more feral to say the least, so he acts more like a wild animal.
> 
> While we haven't discussed about his clothing choice, we do have Corrin's reference right here. Special and immense amount of thanks to Ryss for doing the ref for Corrin, because my fashion design is absolute negative.   
Corrin's Ref Done by Ryss Alsief: https://sta.sh/029kl9d66msi


	18. Dragon Support: Body of Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know people hate the shit out of Corrin for being the most uncreative and bland character in forever, but bear with him in this story, it will all become clear. Since he is such a blank slate, I took a few extreme liberties when it came to writing him. Though his decisions in this chapter might make people mad.

### Chapter 18: Dragon Support: Body of Secrets

Shulk ran the sharp end of Pit’s Palutena Bow along the back of his old sweater, cutting a giant hole in the back and tested it out by holding it against Corrin’s back. Chains rattling as Corrin squirmed under the light touch on his back where his wings were and a whine came from his lips. Shulk drew back for a moment. “Sorry did I touch your wounds?” Corrin shook his head as he relaxed a little bit, the chains around his hands and feet jingling as he brought them closer to his hunched over body. ‘No…’ Corrin’s voice came clear in Shulk’s head, the sensation of being spoken to directly through his mind was odd but Corrin didn’t exactly have human vocal chords to speak normally at the moment. Though admittedly it still sent shivers down his spine with how distant the voice was, cold and fearful. ‘My wings just feel sensitive…’ 

Shulk nodded as he quickly did a few more measurements and proceeded to cut even larger holes into the back of his sweater. Toon shuffling up next to Shulk as he held out an old pair of pants that Shulk had asked Toon to help tailor as well. Toon had cut a giant hole in the back of the pants using Dark Pit’s Silver Bow and handed the garment to Shulk who nodded. The Homs made sure they were well stitched up before moving over to Corrin, who was trying his hardest to stay still in his hunched position on the ground. Rattling the chains as he looked up, Corrin watched as Shulk held the tailored clothes in front of him. “Come on, let's get you dressed up. I took some of my spare clothes so you can wear them.” Shulk moved over to help remove the flimsy torn black bodysuit but a guttural growl escaped Corrin’s lips. 

Drawing his hand back instantly, Shulk looked at Corrin who turned away, Corrin’s thoughts echoing in his head. ‘Sorry… I just don’t want to take it off… it makes me feel more grounded… to remind me of who I am… that I am not a beast…’ Shulk bit his lip, he couldn’t help but feel the same pang in his heart, subconsciously moving a hand over his own chest where he could feel the warmth of his body. He was still himself, he lied to himself over and over again before he turned back to Corrin. “Alright then.” Shulk sighed as he still offered the clothes to Corrin. “At least wear this over your suit so we can cover up the naked parts.” Shulk put the clothes down in front of Corrin and began to remove the chain of the Hookshot from Corrin’s wrists. The hookshot fell to the ground with a loud clatter and Corrin rubbed at his sore wrists that were now red and raw from the abrasions of the chains.

Taking a step back to give Corrin some space to change, Shulk moved over to Toon who was still trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes. The tiny hylian had been crying, tearing and weeping non-stop since they found Corrin so Shulk was in charge of trying to calm Toon down. Toon was experiencing a mess of emotions, from relief to happiness to shock and gratitude, which all culminated in tears of joy that rolled down his smooth cheeks like a waterfall. Corrin’s voice in his head was the only thing he could ‘hear’. And that broke the tiny Hero of Winds. Shulk ran his fingers up and down Toon’s back, massaging and getting the little Hylian to calm down from the over-exposure of the ‘noise’ in Toon’s head. Looking up and glancing around the small campsite, he still couldn’t see Pit or Dark Pit, so hunting must be taking way longer than expected in this odd dimension. 

‘Chains…’ Another shiver ran up Shulk’s spine as he turned to see Corrin standing up, piercing red eyes tinted with blue bearing deep into Shulk’s own turquoise eyes with a hint of somberness. Corrin’s wings had nicely fit behind the flexible sweater Shulk had tailored and Corrin’s tail slipped through the hole in his loaned pants. The black bodysuit clung to Corrin’s skin, tattered and torn but would hold for now as Corrin held his arms out, claws on the end of each finger glimmering. He was still barefooted, but it was the right call with how sharp the claws on his toes were, and Corrin made the decision to wrap his blue cape around his waist like a belt. ‘Chains…’ Corrin’s thoughts echoed in his head once more as Corrin held his arms out towards Shulk.

Shulk shook his head and took a second to regain composure before looking back at Corrin, voice caught in his throat. “Chains? Y-you want me to chain you up?” Corrin nodded slowly, his silver dragon horns heavy on his head as he did so. ‘Chains…’ Shulk bit his lip at the request, surely that would be cruel to Corrin, restricting him like that, but yet Corrin insisted. ‘Chains… I don’t want to hurt anyone… Please just chain me up… Just my hands… I can’t trust myself if you don’t.’ Shulk swallowed a hard lump and nodded. “A-alright if it makes you feel better. We can’t use Toon’s hookshot since he needs that for battle so I will use something else.” Shulk mumbled as he slowly stood up to find materials in his bag to use. 

While Shulk began tinkering with the spare parts in his supply, Toon stood up from the ground and slowly moved over to Corrin who was now sitting on the floor on top of his claws to prevent himself from moving. Corrin’s striking red eyes hinted with blue looking up at Toon, who stared back with wide eyes of his own, red and sore from all the crying. Corrin’s breathing was heavy and deep as Toon sat right next to him, huddling up to Corrin. Corrin bit his lip, drawing a little blood with how sharp his canines were, causing the silver-haired to jump a little and try to move away from Toon. Yet Toon continued to squirm and insist on staying right next to Corrin. Corrin looked down as Toon hugged him slowly. Warm… Toon was so small and Warm… So small and fragile… Something he could easily crush with his dragon strength.

‘You should leave me…’ Corrin directed his thoughts to Toon as he tried to slowly wriggle away to no avail. ‘I-I might hurt you.’ Yet Toon shook his head and placed a hand on Corrin’s arm, gripping at the tattered bodysuit while holding back sniffles and tears. “Please…” Toon’s wavering voice croaked out. “Keep speaking to me…” Corrin blinked slowly at Toon as the young Hylian’s eyes glittered with hope and pleas, and he caved in. ‘Alright…’ Corrin sighed as he slumped over his knees in defeat, his tail moving gingerly behind him. Toon’s eyes welled up with tears that slowly fell down his cheek as the young Hero of Winds desperately tried to wipe them away with his sleeves. Corrin waited for a moment before continuing, ‘What do you want me to talk about?’

“Anything…” Toon mumbled out softly like a whisper, but Corrin’s hearing was acute enough to catch on. ‘A-alright… I guess I could start with what I like…’ Corrin racked his brain trying to think of something he liked, but he soon realised that… he didn’t know anything but fighting and war. There was nothing he liked… well maybe except. ‘I liked it when people sang to me…’ Corrin made a rumbling sound in his throat that came out more like a wild animal’s grunts when he tried to sing. Shaking his head, Corrin let his head fall back into his knees, his horns heavy on the side of his head. ‘I.. I would try to tell you how it went but… I cannot remember what it sounded like… I am sorry I am not good at… starting conversations.. Just forget it...’ Corrin felt a tiny touch on his side and his head shot up to look at Toon, whose wide eyes despite how red they were from crying was burning with a certain passion. 

Toon was a musician, a conductor and he loved music. His sacrifice rendered him unable to hear anything, but he knew and he remembered. Every tune, every song and every chord of the melodies he came across. Corrin’s song was one of the many he had come to appreciate in this realm. Over the course of this adventure he had learnt to come to terms with his lack of hearing but when he heard Corrin’s words, he couldn’t help but shatter the barrier around his heart. He missed hearing, and listening to someone speak to him after living in that infuriating and insane silence… it was relieving, like euphoria coursing through his veins like a drug. Corrin was giving him a chance to ‘hear’ again, so if he could repay Corrin for giving back his ‘hearing’.... Then tapping on his memory would be a worthwhile payment right? To return the favour? 

Toon fumbled with his inventory and pulled out his Wind Waker Baton, a silver conductor’s baton that controlled the winds around him with the songs that he played with the baton. Toon scrunched up his face as he tried to recall what the song Corrin was referring to was titled. What was it? He knew the melody but he couldn’t remember the title. So instead he smiled at Corrin as he drew his Wind Waker up. 

The winds whipped and swirled around them as Toon drew the Wind Waker in his movement, the breeze whistling around them as it slowly twisted and turned itself into a hum that echoed across the campsite. The winds itself at the beckoning of Toon’s Wind Waker as the tiny Hero of Winds directed them into a tune, a sweet melody, waving the silver baton to the beat and notes of that song he heard. A song about choosing fate between two sides, equally opposed to each other but still regarded as family and how one was faced with the decision alone. Yet, it was a song filled with hope and warmth, soothing the tired soul. A ballad as it was hummed and sung by the winds that Toon conducted. 

Corrin watched with wide red eyes as Toon began to conduct the song, conduct the song without being able to hear the song. It was perfect, every chord, harmony and beat was just as Corrin remembered it. Toon truly was extraordinary when it came to music, deaf or not. It was his special talent. Corrin’s body visibly relaxed next to Toon as his tail began to relax and wag, wings moving to bring Toon closer to him as Corrin nuzzled into Toon’s hair as the melody continued, despite Toon’s slight giggles. A whine escaping Corrin’s lips as he indulged himself, the song about being lost in his thoughts, all on his own. 

Shulk also stopped dead in his tinkering to listen to Toon conduct the song and he couldn’t help but smile. It was the first time Toon had attempted to conduct or even produce music since they began this arduous journey. ‘Listening’ to Corrin must have shattered that fear and torment in Toon’s heart, and healed him. When Dark Pit and Pit finally returned, Shulk made sure they both hushed down to let Toon finish the song, encouraging them to let Corrin enjoy the song. The two angels obliged and watched, Pit with awe and Dark Pit with a smirk as Toon continued to conduct the melody. 

When the song reached its last chords and faded away along with the winds, turning back into the stale silence of the Mysterious Dimension, Toon lowered his baton and looked up at Corrin whose red-blue eyes were now glimmering with tears. Toon wiped away his own tears, swallowed his own all of saliva and stood up to wipe away Corrin’s tears for him as he mumbled out in his strangely-stressed voice that wavered, “Don’t cry... “ Toon whispered. “Or I will cry too.” Corrin sucked in a breath and nodded as he let Toon wipe his tears away for him, since he was sitting on his own claws. 

Pit and Dark Pit hurried around the campsite to prepare the meal that they hunted while Shulk came up to Corrin and held out a length of blue chain, soft pale blue. “I made this out of Blue Chain materials from back on my home on the Bionis, Colony 9.” Shulk explained as he helped Corrin wrap the chains around Corrin’s outstretched hands, even if it felt wrong doing that, but he was not going to argue with Corrin. ‘Home…’ Corrin’s thoughts echoed in the entire group’s minds, as Pit and Dark Pit looked over to stare at Corrin. ‘This melody… it brings back memories… It was the song Azura sang when I first met her in Hoshido… back home...’

The chains rattled as Corrin finally found it safe for him to move about freely. The sound of chains was like music to his acute hearing, to hold him back, as a security to make sure he didn’t go on a rampage again. ‘Back when I was home… conflict between the neighbouring territories of Nohr and Hoshido tore me apart before both sides… and so… I ran… I ran to this realm to escape from that harsh reality… to escape that decision. I didn’t want to make a decision, so scared and confused I came here… That song Azura sang is the only thing I had left to remind me that both sides wanted me.’ Corrin stood up and Toon followed, chains rattling on his wrist as he walked over to the fire where Pit was preparing grilled fish and some fruit. Dark Pit had given up on helping and was just sitting a good distance from the fire, his gaze was oddly fixated on Shulk. 

“You thought that was odd?” Pit piped up as he placed another stick of fish to the fire. “I was turned into a ring at one point!” Shulk choked on his saliva and Corrin squinted hard at Pit. “You have got to be joking.” Shulk spluttered out in surprise and Pit shook his head. “I am serious! I was a ring! I was trapped in the Ring of Chaos!” Pit insisted only for Dark Pit to laugh and chuckle. “Yeah he was turned into a ring, I can testify to that. It was because idiot Pit-stain there was stuck in the ring that I was unconscious for 3 years.” Pit looked offended as he puffed his cheek out. “It was not as if I meant to do that Pittoo. It was all because of the Chaos Kin!” Dark Pit narrowed his eyes at Pit as he hissed at Pit, “Do not bring up that piece of shit up ever again.” Pit shut up immediately. 

Toon chuckled as Corrin helped to relay Pit and Dark Pit’s conversation towards the young Hero of Winds on Shulk’s request. Toon jumped to his feet as he waved his arms around wildly to sign his own story, which Shulk had to interpret for Corrin back. ‘I was born on an island and the Great Sea was actually hiding the old Hyrule that was flooded beneath the waves to stop Ganondorf from spreading darkness across the land. So I went on pirate adventures with my time’s Zelda, who insists on being called Tetra and we sailed the high seas!’ Toon ended with what looked like a pirate’s signature salute but he stumbled and landed face first into the dirt which caused an eruption of laughter from everyone but Dark Pit who hid his laugh behind his hand. 

Then all eyes on Shulk. A cold sweat ran down Shulk’s cheek, and the lights on his skin began to flicker as Shulk hurried to try and think of what to say. Dark Pit continued to keep his sharp gaze on Shulk, but not on Shulk’s face but on the lines that painted the rest of the Seer’s body. After gathering his thoughts, Shulk spoke his own story. “I came from a land where the world is nothing but an endless sea and we live on a titan known as the Bionis. There is another titan called the Mechonis and they were both locked in deep combat with one another until only their lifeless corpses remained… though their souls might still live on” Shulk trailed off before shaking his head and shook his hands. “Then the Mechon, which are these killing machines from the Mechonis attacked my home, Colony 9 so I picked up the Monado and set out to get my revenge on them. Especially after they killed Fiora-”

“Who is Fiora?” Pit chimed in and Shulk froze as he went a deep red. “I-I’d rather not go into that.” Shulk mumbled as he tried to hide the flush in his face, even if his lines were flickering erratically. Dark Pit raised an eye at this change in pattern on the Monado lines, making mental notes as Shulk ended his story there by saying he was travelling and met comrades that shared the same goal as he did before he came to this universe. 

It was around the time that Shulk finished telling his brief story that their meal was ready. Pit handed skewers of grilled fish to the group along with a share of fruits, which included a selection of citrus and apples and other berries. ‘I won’t eat the fruits…’ Corrin told Pit as Pit frowned and pushed the fruits closer to Corrin. “Why not Corrin? They are good for you!” Pit whined as he pushed the bowl of fruits to Corrin who only pushed it back, chains jingling as he moved. ‘My digestive system is that of a pure carnivore… I remember trying to eat vegetables and fruits while I was in the haze of my rampage but my stomach just couldn’t digest it.’ Corrin shook his head as he just bit and tore into the grilled fish, his sharp teeth tearing through the fish with ease and even the sounds of bone crunched under the strength of his jaws. Corrin did indeed eat the fish whole, bone and all, which Pit was stunned by but nodded and quickly gave himself an extra large serving of fruit using Corrin’s share. 

Dark Pit held his fish up in his left and bit onto it, but didn’t chew or swallow, for his attention was more fixated on a certain Homs who stared blankly at his own share of food. Dark Pit watched… observed as Shulk’s eyes quivered as the seer shakily took a bite of the fish only for his eyes to go wide with disgust but yet swallowed it down with a lot of effort. The cold sweat that trickled down Shulk’s face didn’t go unnoticed by the observant dark angel, neither did the way that the Monado lines and flicker to reflect his disgust or the way Shulk’s eyes twitched. The way Shulk’s body quivered and shivered with every bite and how he would sometimes stop to try and massage his stomach or pull down his clothes over the core of his body. Dark Pit knew that Shulk was hiding something, he recognized that look. Unlike Pit, Dark Pit was a lot more observant and serious, which in this situation worked well in his favour as he watched Shulk’s visible discomfort throughout the meal. 

The statement from Pit about Corrin’s body got Dark Pit thinking, thinking very hard about what he witnessed and noticed. It was almost as if a light bulb went off in his head, but Dark Pit knew that Shulk would not cough it up if he asked him straight out like this in front of idiots like Pit, so he had to think of a different way. And his eyes landed on Corrin, earning a wry smirk and grin from the dark angel as he finally took a bite out of his own share of the meal. 

When Shulk excused himself from the campsite for a moment, Dark Pit bullied Pit into clearing up the campsite with Toon as he took the opportunity to have some time alone with Corrin and strike a deal. Dark Pit leaned against the tree that Corrin was resting next to, chains wrapped tightly around Corrin’s wrist jingled with a sharp sound when Dark Pit made a clicking noise next to Corrin to catch his attention but then quickly advised Corrin to not look at him. “Don’t look, keep looking forward at Pit-stain and the kid.” Dark Pit hissed out sharply at Corrin who nodded and obliged with a shiver. “I want to strike a deal with you.” 

‘A deal?’ Corrin’s thoughts rang in Dark Pit’s mind as the dark angel nodded slightly. “Yeah. You know you fucking owe me for slapping you out of your rampage back then, so I am giving you a chance to repay me for that favour.” Corrin frowned slightly and bit his lip, falling silent as Dark Pit continued on. “I am going to need you to use that dragon strength of yours to restrain Shulk.” Corrin’s head shot up as he looked at Dark Pit, disbelief painted across his face. ‘Wh-what-’ Corrin stumbled and Dark Pit hissed out, “Keep looking forward reptile. You heard me right. I am going to need your fucking ass to restrain Shulk, hold him down.” Corrin followed Dark Pit’s advice and looked straight, but he could feel the discomfort bubbling and boiling in his stomach as he thought on what Dark Pit had offered. Sure he wanted to make up for what Dark Pit did to snap him out of his rampage but this… this..

‘Isn’t this excessive?’ Corrin shuddered. ‘I mean… why would you need me to restrain him… why do you need to restrain him?’ Corrin heard Dark Pit huff out heavily beside him before the darker angel continued. “Shulk is hiding something from the group, and I am going to get to the bottom of it. You have dragon strength so holding down a human or homs or whatever Shulk calls himself should be easy no?” Corrin didn’t like the smirk that painted Dark Pit’s lips, neither did he like what was being planned with him, that he was being coerced into. It all felt wrong, this dragon blood was powerful, he didn't want to use it to hurt anyone… he couldn’t. If he did, he would be nothing more than a wild animal. And he wasn’t a wild animal. He was human. Yet he still was torn, he wanted to repay Dark Pit for sure but this was… this was too much-

“So is that a yes or a no?” Dark Pit’s voice cut through Corrin’s thoughts as the dragon-mix blinked at Dark Pit who let out another heavy huff. Corrin bit his lip and looked away, putting his forehead into his knees as he breathed in slowly, horns heavy on his head as he shook. ‘I don’t know…’ Corrin responded. ‘I don’t know what to choose-’ Dark Pit let out a hiss at Corrin as Corrin stared at Dark Pit’s burning red eyes. For an angel who only had one eye to see through normally, Corrin couldn’t help but cower under the dark angel’s intensity and seriousness, the energy and aura the dark angel radiated was mighty heavy. “Stop being an indecisive reptile brain.” Dark Pit scowled as he insulted Corrin once more. “Your indecisiveness and inability to think for yourself and others is driving me fucking crazy. Listen here, lizard brain, if you don’t decide, nothing will be done and you will be stuck in limbo forever. I just need you to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and answer my fucking question. I highly suggest you say ‘yes’ because this is for the future of this group that you are stuck with now.”

Corrin swallowed and he slowly crumbled under the pressure. ‘Ok…’ he managed to communicate with Dark Pit after some stunned silence. ‘I-I will do it…’ And Dark Pit smiled. “Good choice. Now listen lizard brain, I know for a fucking fact that Shulk will stay up tonight with how much is going through his mind, I recognize his look anywhere, so we will do it tonight when the other two are asleep. Got it?” 

‘G-got it…’

* * *

Shulk was feeling utterly horrible. He had once again vomited out the meal that Pit and Dark Pit had worked so hard to gather for them, and he had once again been unable to digest it. He rolled around in his bed roll, groaning softly at his empty stomach and the aches that were stemming from his chest. He had eaten his ether crystals after his meal as Pit insisted and that was the only thing he had all day with a little water, but that was the only thing his body was willing to digest. Though he felt like his ether levels were high and keeping his body functional, he felt empty… and the pain, doubt and guilt bubbling in his chest and stomach wasn’t exactly helping. 

When he tried to recall the taste of the meal, all he could think of was sand. The fish and the fruits were bland and dull, tasted like nothing but grit to his tongue. He knew that they were supposed to taste good, judging from Pit and Toon’s reaction to the food, but he couldn’t taste it… he couldn’t enjoy it. He just couldn’t understand why. What on earth was happening to him? Shulk held a hand over his stomach as he forced himself to sit up in his bed roll, he could feel how empty it was and how sunken in his body had become with the lack of proper food being digested. He was scared… something was happening to his body but he couldn’t figure out why. Why now? What was going on? 

The pain and fear was driving him insane. And he knew if he tried to sleep, maybe he might not wake up the next time… He remembered vividly how Pit and Toon were always so worried that he would not wake up when he fell asleep recently. Each time he fell asleep, it took longer and longer for him to wake up. If he fell asleep again… would he never wake up? He was scared. He was terrified. He was utterly distraught. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to end it all. He wanted to-

The rattling of chains shook him out of those dangerous thoughts and Shulk whipped his head around to see Corrin standing up and leaning Toon against Pit for comfort and warmth as he walked up to Shulk. Corrin’s claws on his feet clicked against the earth, chains rattling and breaths hot and heavy as he approached Shulk, his expression hidden by the shadow of his hair and his massive silver dragon horns. Shulk tilted his head to the side at Corrin, quickly masking his prior fear and discomfort to talk. “What’s wrong Corrin?” Shulk managed to squeak out with a shaky voice. “Can’t sleep?” All Shulk could see was Corrin shake his head and walk closer to him. 

Before Shulk could formulate a follow-up response in his aching head, Corrin lunged out at Shulk. Sharp claws outstretched as Corrin’s grip tightened itself around Shulk’s arms, Corrin’s claws digging into Shulk’s skin, not enough to draw blood but was on the verge of breaking through his skin. Corrin wrestled Shulk with minimal effort, Shulk’s arms wrenched behind his back as Corrin held them down with just one arm. Before Shulk could scream, Corrin’s free arm wrapped around his mouth, muffling his shouts and cries for help, his struggles useless against Corrin’s dragon strength. 

Fear gripped at his heart, Shulk’s lines began to flash erratically, glitching, sparking and buffering as Shulk continued to struggle. His legs kicked out of his sheets trying to twist himself to hit Corrin but the dragon-mixed blood’s tail simply wrapped itself around Shulk’s legs, restraining them in a tight coil. 

He could feel Corrin’s sharp claws at his skin, sharp and menacing, threatening to draw blood. He could hear Corrin’s heavy and deep breaths hot on his neck. Shulk winced when his arms got nicked by Corrin’s sharp claws and he stopped struggling to prevent further injury. He could feel his breathing get hasty, short and shallow as he wracked his brain and tried to think about how to subdue Corrin or alert the others. His lungs were crushed and his heart wanted to jump to his mouth. 

“Easy on your grip Lizard Brain, lest you tear him to shreds with your claws.” A sharp voice cut through Shulk’s panic as turquoise eyes illuminated by the flashing Monado lines looked up, seeing eye to eye with a dark angel camouflaged by the darkness surrounding them, the only light source being Shulk’s body itself. “We don’t want to hurt him too much.” Dark Pit clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth as he slowly lowered himself to a squat in front of the restrained Shulk. “Mmmmm--!” Shulk tried to scream out, struggling more against Corrin’s hold but Corrin’s thoughts infiltrated the depths of his fear to speak. ‘Relax… please… I don’t want you to hurt yourself…’ Corrin’s words didn’t really help to calm Shulk down as Dark Pit drew closer and closer to Shulk. 

Corrin bit his lip as his thoughts rang in the air, audible by only Dark Pit and Shulk. ‘Are you sure this is necessary?’ Corrin’s thoughts laced with uncertainty and guilt as Dark Pit snarled at Corrin slightly. “It’s the only way to make him talk.” Dark Pit turned his crimson eye to Shulk as he made more clicking noises with his tongue. “Now that we have you cornered Nerd, let’s see what you are hiding.” Dark Pit painted a wry smirk on his lips as he closed in on Shulk, his left hand gripping onto Shulk’s jumper tightly as Shulk tried to wriggle away from Dark Pit, but failed due to Corrin’s strong grip. ‘Dark Pit…’ Corrin’s thoughts rang out. ‘Are you sure?’ 

A scoff, “I am super fucking sure!” Dark Pit raised Shulk’s jumper up and Shulk squeezed his eyes shut as Dark Pit let out a very sharp, “What. The. Fuck.”

The circular lines on Shulk’s body which should have been a standard fare of light blue were no longer the blue that Dark Pit was familiar with. Instead the circles were a solid gold colour, no flashing, just a solid gold colour. It resembled golden brands that were seared onto Shulk’s skin and no matter how much Dark Pit tried to wipe them off, the gold colour stayed. The gold colour stayed mainly around the circular pattern on Shulk’s chest, but they looked like they were slowly spreading outwards from the circular center pattern towards Shulk’s limbs, emblazoning them with the same gold colour. It was still majorly covered by Shulk’s sleeves and clothes though, hence the group not noticing it at all. 

The sharp hiss from Dark Pit’s lips pierced the sudden silence as Corrin too let out a low rumble from his throat. The gold looked sickening, and felt almost unnatural against the blue colour that the Monado lines usually were and Corrin had only just got here. It felt wrong against Shulk’s skin, as if trespassing upon Shulk’s secret, Corrin didn’t like it and his head hurt the more he kept Shulk restrained. ‘I am sorry Dark Pit…’ Corrin’s thoughts rang through their heads as Corrin swallowed a hard lump in his throat. ‘I-I can’t… This is not right… we should not have forced it...’ 

Corrin’s hands loosened their grip and his tail retracted away from Shulk, allowing the seer to quickly push Dark Pit off and cover himself with his clothes again. Hugging his arms to his chest, Shulk wheezed and hyperventilated in front of the two, trying to calm himself down. Cold sweat dripping from his forehead, accompanied by the erratic flashing from the blue Monado lines still visible on his face, hands and calves. Shulk refused to look up Dark Pit or Corrin in the eye, instead focusing his blurry gaze upon his clothes, blinking rapidly in attempts to keep his vision intact. Corrin bit his lip and winced when he drew blood, forgetting that his teeth were now serrated with their sharp edges, as he tried to move his wings to provide Shulk with some comfort but the seer smacked his wings away instantly. 

They both looked each other in the eye, fearful turquoise with shivering red and blue before Shulk could finally choke out. “I-I am sorry… please just don’t-” Shulk wrenched his face away from looking at Corrin, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to focus on calming himself. Corrin watched as Dark Pit rose to his feet and scowled, looking away from Shulk as his left hand balled up into a fist. Despite the high tension in the air, Pit and Toon continued to sleep on, and Corrin admitted he found that very admirable. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dark Pit hissed out, but Shulk didn’t answer. “I know you heard me. Answer the fucking question. Why didn’t you fucking tell us?” Dark Pit whipped around and narrowed his crimson glare at Shulk, fuming with anger and disbelief. “I told you before that if you dare make us concerned with worry, that I would kill you first. So tell me before I shove my Silver Bow up your fucking ass, what the fuck is wrong with you?” The last words came out sharp on Dark Pit’s tongue as Shulk visibly flinched back and Corrin shuddered at Dark Pit’s tone. Harsh, unforgiving, cold but he knew Dark Pit meant well for Shulk, he just wasn’t… wasn’t wording it nicely for him. 

No answer came from Shulk, and all that was heard were the heavy breaths from all three involved in this situation. Dark Pit’s heavy huffs of anger, Shulk’s wheezing filled with fear and Corrin’s guttural breaths of uncertainty. 

“Because… I don’t know myself.” Shulk finally answered between gasps of breath as he curled in on himself. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.... How could I even tell you guys if I don’t know myself? If I did, I would only be adding to Pit and Toon’s concern.” Dark Pit snarled and spat back at Shulk. “You and Pit-stain were the ones who told me, that we are a fucking team. If there is something that we can’t conquer as one, then we can probably do it as a team. Why are you being the fucking hypocrite now? Do you not understand the fucking stakes? You are fighting with a defective body and you still insist on not telling us at all? You stupid fucking-” ‘Dark Pit…’ Corrin tried to interject only for Dark Pit to shoot Corrin a sharp and cold glare. “Shut up lizard brain. Can’t you see that Shulk is sabotaging us?!”

Corrin held back his hand, chains around his wrists rattling and his tail coiled around his leg tightly, wings scrunched up behind his back. Corrin bit back a roar as he shook his head. ‘I-I understand where he is coming from… to be scared of yourself to the point where you can’t tell others…’ Corrin held out his hand in front of him, fingernails sharp and long, claw-like with their silver pointed edges. Restrained by chains. ‘Because… if you are scared of yourself, you want to distance yourself from others… so you don’t scare them in turn.’ Corrin’s wings opened up behind his back and he flashed an unusually wide smile at Dark Pit and Shulk, showing his rows of sharp dragon teeth. ‘Shulk isn’t sabotaging us… he is uncertain and scared… just like me.” Corrin curled up once more, wings pressed against his back as he raised his gaze to Shulk. ‘Right?’ 

It took a while for the words to register in Shulk’s head, and Shulk nodded slowly. “I don’t want to hold anyone back, I am just a miserable burden if I do. So please forget this ever happened, maybe if we leave it alone, it will fade away.” Dark Pit bit his lip and turned away from Shulk and Corrin as he let out a long sigh. “Dumbasses. Fine. But from now on, you are not to use a Monado art until we can ascertain what your condition is. Now that lizard brain is here with us, he will make up for you. Also at least try to eat.” Harsh.

Shulk nodded slowly as Dark Pit waved them off and disappeared to sleep against a tree on the far end of the campsite. Shulk took a breath and looked at Corrin who was sitting next to Shulk on the floor and whined a little. “Thank you Corrin.” Shulk muttered out as he reached out to give Corrin a rub on the head. Corrin flinched back at first when Shulk touched him but the touch was warm and gentle, it felt surprisingly good as Corrin relaxed, cooing under the rub as his tail wagged behind him. Perhaps it was the wild dragon in him that found it satisfying, and Corrin knew deep down inside that he would not have liked this odd dehumanisation act, but for now he let it slide since it seemed to bring a slight smile back on Shulk’s sullen face. 

After Shulk managed to worry himself to sleep, Corrin found himself placing the seer back in his sheets and covering Shulk up nicely before moving away to give the sleeping seer some space. Corrin turned to watch the rumbling darkness and the chaotic environment of the Mysterious Dimension around him but had his attention stolen by a whimpering behind him. When Corrin whipped his head around, he sucked in a breath as he watched Shulk convulse and twitch in his sleep. Sparks of electricity ran up the Hom’s body, crackling and shocking the seer. Corrin let out a very worried grunt and lumbered over to Shulk, his chains rattling loudly around his wrists as he tried to touch Shulk only to be shocked in return. 

A high pitched yelp from Corrin as he drew his arms back, clutching them tightly in an attempt to discharge the strong electric shock he received from touching Shulk. After some deep breaths, Corrin blinked away the spots in his vision and returned to Shulk who was still having a seizure from the electricity running and coursing through his body. Corrin bit on his scarred lips and began to pace around Shulk, trying to touch the seer every now and then only to be shocked in turn. He wanted to ask someone else, maybe Pit or Toon for help, but he didn't want to disturb them. In stunned and shocked silence, Corrin continued to pace around Shulk until the seer began to stop shaking. 

When the electricity died down, Corrin gingerly wrapped his wings around Shuk, curling his tail around them as he provided the seer with warmth and comfort in touch from his giant dragonic wings. He didn’t know what to do for the Homs who still wore a worrying grimace on his face despite the electricity being long gone. He didn’t know what to do, so he silently just stayed by Shulk’s side. Because he knew what it felt like to be scared of himself. The chains around his limbs jingled as he curled himself into a ball right next to Shulk, the soft sound of chains keeping his mind intact. 

This was not something he was going to tell Dark Pit. He didn’t want to start another conflict all over again. He didn’t want to be forced on the fence to choose a side again. He came here to run away from the choice between Nohr and Hoshido. He didn’t want another situation like that here. So Corrin kept quiet.

_‘Foolish mortals… The lot of them… They think they can stop me? How Naive...’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo... more fighting scenes... fantastic. Grumble grumble.   
Once again Ryss' drawn reference for Corrin if you are wondering about his clothing choice: https://sta.sh/029kl9d66msi  
Also if anyone has any idea of curses or sacrifices for Wolf, Ike, Meta Knight and Luigi, please do suggest them! I would love to hear more suggestions from people especially since I am a lone writer and my creativity does not stretch that far.


	19. Marx's Winding Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still hate writing fight scenes. Also double chapter post.

### Chapter 19: Marx’s Winding Road

Corrin was still fighting with himself. He was fighting with the two sides that made up himself. On one side, his human self was telling him to tell the rest of what he saw yesterday night, to inform them of what he witnessed. On the other hand, his dragon self was purring and snarling from its throne, threatening him and scaring him away from it, the fear of starting another argument with Dark Pit weighed heavily on his mind. He could remember it vividly, the pure pain and agony washed over Shulk’s face that last night. The electric shocks that rendered even his sturdy half-dragon body stunned. It was scary, both for him and for Shulk, he just knew it. 

His reptilian ruby eyes with hints of blue stared straight at Shulk who was slowly drinking the coffee he was provided by Pit to wash down the rough feeling of ether crystals. When Corrin woke up, Shulk was in a deep coma and it took the group almost half an hour of constantly shoving ether crystals down Shulk’s throat to get him to wake up. The entire camp was in a mass panic and worry after that but the food was slowly livening the mood. Corrin’s teeth were sunk into his slab of meat, but he didn’t chew or swallow, he just left his teeth in the meat as he watched Shulk. He understood what Dark Pit was trying to say the day before. 

Shulk wasn’t eating, he looked weak and thin. While Shulk naturally had a thin and fragile frame, Corrin’s predator eyes could tell how especially weak he looked. Those sunken eyes, dry lips and how skinny he was around the arms and legs. Corrin started to believe what Dark Pit was saying, that something was definitely wrong with Shulk. But he knew there was nothing, no way that Shulk would tell them. 

“Corrin? Hello? Earth to Corrin!” Pit’s upbeat voice snapped Corrin out of his trance as Corrin looked up at Pit standing over him. Pit smiled widely and warmly at Corrin as he offered another stick of fish, “What another?” Corrin stared at the skewered fish for a moment before shaking his head, finally deciding to take a bite out of his slab of meat. He tore the meat off the bone and chewed slowly, his sharp fangs grinding and shredding the thick meat into shreds in his mouth before he swallowed it. As he chewed, he continued to contemplate on his options, on what he should do, but his indecisiveness prevented him from making any sort of decision. So instead he let himself get dragged into the conversation about the boss of the area. 

“What is the boss of this area like?” Pit piped up as he shovelled a spoonful of fruit into his mouth. Dark Pit scowled as he placed his left hand on his waist with a huff, “As if we would know. We haven’t seen or heard of the boss since we came here. Even the dog and his crew didn’t see the boss.” Corrin tilted his head slightly and looked at the group, watching as Toon waddled over to him and offered him another stick of fish, to which Corrin declined with a ‘no thank you’ before Toon settled himself next to Corrin, being wary of Corrin’s notion of personal space. 

Moving his arms, his chains rattled as Corrin got the group's attention. ‘The boss of this area is Marx. I only caught glimpses of him. Sometimes he will become one with the shadow and chase us around. Sometimes he will create black holes just to mess with us.’ Dark Pit narrowed his eyes at Corrin as he mouthed the word ‘us’ silently to which Corrin just waved it off. ‘My human half and my dragon half are always locked in conflict. We fight, purr and grunt at each other constantly, so much so I regard myself as two different beings. I am Corrin, a human, but also Corrin, a beast. But I would rather forget about the beast half.’ Corrin shuddered as he tore off another large chunk of meat from the bone to chew. He noticed how Shulk froze up when he said that but chose not to think about it for now.

He didn’t need to wait till he finished swallowing to speak again. ‘Marx is a tricky one, I never really fought him as much as I ran from him. He was just toying with me the entire time. At least from what my hazy memory tells me.’ Corrin sighed as he threw the cleaned bone behind him and wrapped his wings around himself, tail curled around his legs. ‘He is on the island adjacent to this one. That’s where he has shaped the land into his personal toyroom.’

“Then let's head there immediately, we will try to scout him out while waiting on Wolf and Ike’s group!” Pit proposed finishing the last spoonfuls of fruit. “That way we can be even more prepared and beat him with a few punches.” Pit grinned from ear to ear as he handed his bowl to Toon who was packing up the campsite. Corrin’s wings and tails tensed around him as he looked up, watching as Pit fussed over Shulk who was still trying to swallow his coffee, he could see how the seer shivered with every mouthful, how Shulk shuddered and tried to hide his pain behind a smile. He wanted to say something but he knew the conflict would only get worse if he did. Surely keeping quiet is not a bad thing… right?

Corrin didn’t know what to think, nor did he know what to do. He could hear his human half hesitating and his dragon half gloating, mocking him inside his own head.

* * *

The island where Marx was presumably at was no different from the other floating islands, a mish-mash of different lands, textures and environments amalgamated into a singular land mass floating above an endless void. There was a small area in the middle of the floating island, a flat land of grey rocks, smooth and cold to the touch. It was desolate and covered slightly by a hint of purple mist, choking and almost suffocatingly heavy. The group wasn’t very lucky in finding Marx or even a sign of him, the island was empty and desolate, silent with nowhere to go or hide. 

“Hey Lizard Brain!” Dark Pit called out as he looked behind another pile of rocks for the upteenth time, “Are you sure the boss is on this island? Its fucking empty.” Corrin nodded his head, silver horns bobbing up and down as he tasted the air on his tongue, it was cold and stale as he could vaguely remember it. ‘He has to be here… this is where I remember seeing him the most.’ Corrin related his thoughts to the rest of the group as he got down on all fours and began to lay low, listening, watching and smelling for any sign of the boss. He didn’t know why he went on all fours, it just felt comfortable and right to him at the time. 

“Guys! Over here!” The resounding voice of Pit called them over to a small part of the island where the land was flat covered in grey rocks. Pit pointed at a small hole where there were remnants of what looked like fragments of a shell. “What is that?” Pit inquired as Shulk gingerly reached out to inspect it, the fragments were thin and light to the touch, fragile enough that if Shulk squeezed, they might break and scatter into dust. The visionary narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow as he inspected it closer, noting the subtle rough edges of the fragments before he came to a conclusion. 

“This is a seed, or well the outer coating of a seed also known as the testa. It's the outermost layer of the seed that protects its contents.” Shulk raised his gaze up and began to survey the land, but saw no sign of a nearby tree, flora or even plant in the vicinity. “But it’s strange. There isn’t a plant within the approximate location of these fragments... and I don’t see any sign of the plumule, epicotyl or hypocotyl anywhere. If the testa is here, surely that means it that the sapling would have been in the vicinity somewhere, there is no way that it can be left here without the actual sapling itself-” Shulk paused when he heard the stunned silence behind him and he sighed internally. 

Right. He was the only one with formal scientific knowledge. 

“Basically the other parts of the seed aren’t near the seed shell.” Shulk explained simply to the group. “Which means that either the plant already withered and died or it magically disappeared, but this seed shell is new.” Shulk murmured as he placed the fragment back in the small hole. Suddenly both Toon and Corrin froze. They both had the most acute of senses in one way or another and they could both tell there was something behind them. A heavy pressure suddenly weighed upon the two as they robotically turned around with a jitter. The other three followed suit with confusion all over their faces and they all sucked in a breath. 

Standing behind them was a small little being that resembled Kirby, small round shape lavender body with brown shoes and a bow tie under his wide smiling mouth. He wore a jester hat that was split in two colours, one side red and the other blue, with white spots on the blue side and white triangles on the red side. He wore a huge wide smile on his innocent looking face, but that did not mask the sinister dark aura that stemmed from his body. 

“Heeheehee. Are you here to play?” A childish high-pitched voice spoke out as Marx stood there with his wide smile. “If you invited yourself into my toy room… it means you came to play with me right?” The dark aura swirled and condensed around Marx as he began to hover above the ground, the black energy forming into a sphere around the jester’s body before bursting out in a flash of purple fire as Marx drew himself out of the dark aura. The rattling of chains echoed throughout the island as Corrin drew himself on all fours, his lips parting in a feral snarl to reveal the sharp serrated teeth he had, his tail whipping dangerously behind him.

Golden-yellow coloured wings sprouted from Marx’s back, fang like claws jutting out from the joints of the wings that had mirror-like, multicoloured scales under the wing frames. His eyes had grown large, unnaturally large and a grin wider than before painted his face, filled sharp teeth and fangs as he floated around to the group. His voice now eerily high pitched accompanied by an echo. “Let’s play together! Forever!” 

Marx disappeared in a flash of light, teleporting himself to random places above the group around the flat grey battlefield, laughing, cackling at them from the shadows of the darkness. The group drew their weapons in a flash, holding them in a defensive position, waiting for Marx to stop teleporting around before they decided to take action. Silent consent befalling the group as they patiently waited for Marx to stop toying around with his flashy teleports and ‘play’ with them. 

Appearing a little ways away from the group Marx giggled eerily as he puffed up his cheeks and began to suck in a deep breath. With a cry, Pit and Dark Pit ran at Marx, brandishing their bows made of gold and silver, the sharp ends of their blade slicing through the air as they both attempted to leave a deep cut in Marx’s scaly wings. Their weapons crashed into Marx’s wings shattering the mirror-like scales into tiny fragments as Marx let out a muffled screech and released his breath. A giant spikeball flew out from Marx’s mouth, plummeting towards the ground like a two ton block of steel and crashed into the ground, making the grounded Toon, Shulk and Corrin wobble from the impact. Before they could catch their footing back, the spikeball split into two giant ice balls that sped straight towards the grounded members, emitting a cold freezing aura as they hurtled towards the three. 

“Look out!” Pit tried to warn them as the ice balls rolled across the deserted battlefield. With a loud roar, Corrin grabbed Shulk’s hood with his jaws and with his chained up hands, grabbed onto Toon. His wings spread out wide and with a push from his feet and tail, launched himself up into the sky, flapping his wings as hard as he could. The iceball grazed under Shulk’s shoes and Shulk shivered at the frost that covered his toes, painful and numbing. Corrin flapped his wings harder to try and keep them airborne for a while longer as Toon took the opportunity to throw his boomerang straight at Marx. The wooden weapon whizzed through the air before slamming Marx right in the cheek, causing the jester to screech and teleport away in a flashy erratic manner. 

With too much weight for his wings to handle, Corrin haphazardly descended onto the ground, Toon and Shulk released from his grip safely as Corrin took in some deep breaths and folded his wings neatly behind his back. “Thanks Corrin.” Shulk smiled, followed by Toon’s tiny thumbsup as the angels regrouped. Corrin shook his head, ‘It was the least I could do.’ His thoughts ringing in their heads as Marx appeared not far away from them. “Heehee, play play play! Why not we just have fun! I know! We can play ‘Who can dodge the laser’!” Marx drew in another deep breath as his cheeks puffed up big and let out a big high pitched scream as a giant laser of pink and purple shot itself out of his mouth, big and wide towards the group. 

Corrin let out a loud roar as he tackled into the group, using his strength, wings and tail to push them out of the laser’s line of fire just in time. Corrin himself however, was not as lucky as the laser engulfed him in a bright light and sent him flying across the entire battlefield. He landed in the rocks and dirt in a cloud of dust and a whimper of pain echoed from his throat, body filled with burns and bruises from the attack he took head on, wings a little black from the burns. The group looked at Corrin get flung across the field in shock before Toon and Pit grit their teeth and narrowed their gaze at Marx who was giggling maniacally on the side. “Heehee! The dragon loses! The dragon loses!” 

Toon let an arrow fly that sunk into Marx’s wing frame as the jester cried out in pain, stumbling a little in the air as Pit ran up to Marx in a follow-up, splitting his bow blade into half, with one in his mouth and the other in his hands. Flinging one half at Marx’s uninjured wing, Pit grabbed the other half from his mouth and sliced it across Marx only to barely graze Marx’s cheek as the jester reared back slightly in response to the pain. 

“Attend to the lizard!” Dark Pit called out to Shulk as he ran to assist the Hylian and his lighter counterpart. Shulk flinched back at being made to take a back seat but the memories of Dark Pit’s confrontation last night made him shudder with guilt and fear, so Shulk swallowed down the urge to retort and ran back to assist Corrin. Kneeling beside the dragon, Shulk gasped at how bad the injuries were. Black and blue bruises and red burns painted Corrin’s skin, his wings charred black with burn marks and his tail was equally black from the burns. Drawing in a quick breath, Shulk held his hand over Corrin.

He was told not to use Monado arts but regular ether arts should be fine right?

Shulk breathed in deeply, calming himself down as he channeled the ether in his body to his hands. The Monado lines glowing brightly as he ran his fingers over Corrin’s wounds with Light Heal, slowly trying to patch up the wounds as much as he could with the ether in his body. He could feel himself going lightheaded with each wound he closed but he pressed on, trying his hardest to ignore the sudden aching and dull pain that bloomed in his chest. 

Dark Pit stored his bow away behind him as he reached into his satchel and pulled out his electroshock arm weapon, with a cry, Dark Pit slammed the weapon straight into Marx’s face and launched the jester high into the air. Marx spun around and around in the air before coming to a stop, a big red mark on his forehead as he screeched out. His wings glittered and dulled before some scales fell down to the ground, morphing into a giant spheres with rough edges as they fell. Dark Pit’s observant eyes realised those seeds resembled the fragments found earlier and he hissed out. “Get the fuck away from those seeds!” Pit blinked and nodded, grabbing Toon under his right arm and jumping away from the seeds as they buried themselves in the ground.

In a flash the seeds sprouted into giant thorns, tall and thin, each branch of thorns sharp and almost shiny with their edges. They spread out above the ground where they were planted, obstructing their movements and growing out trying to stab the angels with their sharp thorns. Pit bit his lip as he danced around the thorns, while trying to hold Toon, but Pit got nicked slightly in the cheek, drawing blood that ran down his chin and dripped onto Toon. Toon let out a cry as Pit smiled at Toon, “it’s fine! Just a scratch!” Pit assured as Toon lip-read smoothly and nodded, albeit a bit hesitant. Dark Pit stowed away his electroshock arm as he dodged the thorns as well, better than Pit since he didn’t have a Toon to carry. The thorns stopped growing after a while and suddenly disappeared as soon as they had sprouted, retracting back into the ground in a wisp of purple ash, leaving behind the broken outer layer of the seeds in their small holes. 

Pit breathed in a sigh of relief as he let Toon back on the ground and Dark Pit jeered at him for being careless. Pit retaliated that he was holding Toon while trying to avoid the attack and quickly turned to find Marx dive bombing them from the sky. Marx giggled out, eerie and strung, “Let’s play Peek-a-boo!” He dove into his shadow on the ground and vanished as the dark shadow began to move along the ground, following the angels and Toon around as they tried to avoid it. The shadow suddenly expanded under them and Marx’s cackles echoed around them. Dark Pit pushed Toon and Pit out of the way with his one strong left arm just as Marx appeared from underneath them, slamming his sharp wings right under Dark Pit’s chin and shoes kicking into Dark Pit’s gut. 

A cough and Dark Pit was sent flying into the ground like a meteor, a giant cloud of dust and dirt flying everywhere from his landing. “Pittoo!” Pit cried out, storing his bow behind him as he ran up to the dark angel. Toon ran towards the dark angel as well and ran his tiny fingers over Dark Pit’s forehead. The dark angel let out a raspy cough, his body decorated with abrasions and bruises as he hissed and his eyes opened in a slit. “Pit-stain… Kid… Behind you…” Dark Pit hissed out in pain as the two belatedly turned around. 

“Let’s play in the kitchen! Where you are the ingredients and I cut up the food!” Marx cried out as he folded his wings around him before he whipped them out wide, two giant crescent blades circled and spun out from Marx, shot like a bullet towards the group. One of the blades sped towards the angels and Toon, Pit squeezed his eyes and used his body as a shield over Dark Pit and Toon held out his shield to try and block it. The other crescent blade shot towards Shulk who had just managed to heal Corrin but was reeling from a massive headache and could not concentrate on his surroundings to notice the attack. 

“SHULK!” Toon cried out in his wavering voice a bit too late as the seer turned just in time to see the blade right in front of his nose-

“Coming through!” A deep and husky voice called out. A grey shape flung itself in front of Shulk, clothed in purple and with a sleek grey tail behind him. With a grunt, a giant purple barrier was formed that bounced the crescent blade back at Marx, the reflected blade hitting Marx squarely in the wings and caused the jester to scream out, high-pitched and sharp. “Hogging all the glory eh, Wolf? The one who shall get the glory issa me! Luigi!” A green blur shot through the air, leaping high above Marx and stomping their entire weight onto Marx’s head, causing the jester to reel and bite his tongue, earning another screech before he wrapped himself in his injured wings and disappear in a flash. The other blade sent towards Toon and Pit was then sliced in half by a giant golden sword, heavy and sharp as the tall figure clad in a bit or armour stood in front of Toon and Pit. “Seems like we were just in time.” 

“Wolf! Ike!” Pit’s smile returned to his face upon seeing his old friends come to their aid. Luigi landed on the ground on his feet with a flair of grace and looked up at Wolf, a fire burning in his eyes, something that Shulk found extremely unnatural. “Mamma mia Wolf!” Luigi gestured wildly at Wolf as he wore a very stern squint on his face, the embers of battle still alight in his eyes. “How in Princess Peach’s name did you manage to hog all the glory to save them? It was supposed to be a-me!” Wolf rolled his eyes and pushed Luigi away with a snarl. “Fuck off L-tache, you wouldn’t be able to reflect that blade from these guys even if you exposed your abs at it.” Luigi flared up in the face, akin to something Mario would do and stormed off, muttering that he would have been able to stomp on Marx to deal the damage than Wolf’s reflected attack. 

“You okay, kiddos?” Wolf asked as he offered a paw to Shulk who nodded gingerly and took it as Wolf pulled him to his feet. “Wolf…” Shulk finally managed to breathe out after witnessing the conversation between Luigi and Wolf, “What on earth is wrong with-” Wolf huffed out “L-tache?” He helped Shulk complete his query. “Yeah L-tache sacrificed his cowardice, which is both a blessing and a curse to us. Sure he may be a better teammate in terms of actually doing shit, but fuck man, he gets on my nerves because he is so confident he is better than us.” Wolf pinched the bridge of his snout. “It drives me up the fucking wall. He is gonna get himself killed at this rate.” Wolf placed his paws on his waist as he turned around to watch Ike slowly help to patch up Dark Pit with some of his medical supplies. “Good thing we managed to arrive here on time or you would all be minced meat eh?” Shulk nodded, “Thanks for the assistance.” 

Wolf moved over to Corrin who coughed and wheezed as he finally managed to pull himself off the ground, looking dead into Wolf’s eye and froze, cowering back a little as Wolf growled slightly. “As much as I would like to repay your ‘kindness’ for attacking us back then, right now isn’t the time.” Wolf slapped his own fist with a wry smirk, “So I will have you work for my forgiveness after all this is over lizard-boy.” Corrin nodded and quickly shifted himself to stand. “Yo Meta!” Wolf called out, making Shulk and Corrin turn to face one of the rock stacks beside them, where the cloaked figure of Meta Knight stood upon watching the battlefield. “Where do you think Jester-face will show up next?” The Knight of the Galaxy was silent as he watched over the battlefield before his deep voice echoed towards them. “He is hiding in the shadows, I can sense it.” Wolf shrugged with a huff. “Alright if you say so, you have better senses than me right now anyways.” 

Shulk and Corrin shot a look at Wolf who merely waved them off simply, “My senses are dulled, that’s all you need to know kiddos.” Suddenly the air chilled and tense as dark aura swirled and bubbled around them forming a mist. Marx’s bone-chilling voice echoing through the void and air around them, cooing childishly. “More friends to play? More the merrier!” 

“He comes.” Meta Knight warned as he drew his cape over his mask just as Marx appeared right in the middle of the battlefield, Marx giggled and chuckled as he hovered there for a moment, which was long enough for Luigi to run at the jester, leaping into the air with a battle cry. Luigi slammed his entire weight onto Marx’s head, making the jester bite his own tongue and let out a screech of pain, but Luigi didn’t give Marx the space to even care about his injured tongue. Swinging his body gracefully across air, Luigi did a backflip in the air and landed a very heavy karate chop straight on Marx’s head, the force strong enough to send Marx straight into the ground. A large cloud of dust was thrown up, and Marx coughed to try and shake the dust out of his eyes, but did not have the liberty of doing that as Luigi gave him a square kick right in his face, forcing the jester back onto the ground.

Shulk, Corrin and Dark Pit gaped in sheer surprise and awe at how competent Luigi was and Wolf merely huffed. “Come on, let’s back him up.” It took a moment for Wolf’s words to register in their heads and they all nodded, after a brief sign to Toon, they all charged down the boss. Corrin’s tail whipped around behind him, slapping Marx right in the cheek at the same time that Wolf raked his own claws across the other side of Marx’s face. While Marx was dazed, Ike teamed with the angels, using their body weights to tackle Marx aside straight into Toon and Shulk who breathed in deeply and swung both their swords across, leaving huge gashes in Marx’s wings each. Meta Knight flung out his cloak, revealing his own weapon Galaxia and brandished it, ready to strike Marx but was interrupted by Luigi stomping hard on his head, using Meta Knight as a glorified launch pad and leaped into the air. Due to Meta Knight not being able to connect his attack, Marx managed to recover and quickly hovered towards the middle and a low giggle escaped the jester’s lips, a giggle that sent chills up Meta Knight’s body.

“Wait Luigi!” Meta Knight called out, “Don’t do it! Everyone get away from Marx!” The rest of the warriors didn’t need to be told twice as they began to split, running as far away from Marx as possible. Marx let out a gurgled laugh as a line split him down the middle and his body separated into two. Eerie and almost unnatural, a black aura formed between his split halves, growing larger and larger until an invisible force began to pull the group towards Marx. The blackhole that Marx created, drew them in, threatening to suck them into the void if they got close, which Luigi did. Luigi who was already in the air towards Marx didn’t even flinch when he was drawn into the blackhole, instead, he… didn’t show any hesitation or fear at all as he was sucked into the depths of the black hole. 

“Luigi!” Pit cried out trying to turn back for the green plumber but Ike held him back. “Forget him Pit, we can't lose you too.” Pit bit his lip and squeezed his eye shut with a hesitant nod as they continued to outrun the growing blackhole for a minute straight until Marx seemed to stop. The blackhole spat out Luigi onto the ground, the green plumber covered in burns and bruises as he landed on the ground, unconscious as Marx disappeared once more. The rest of the fighters ran up to Luigi, inspecting the poor green plumber whose own overconfidence was his own downfall as Wolf snarled. “Idiot L-tache. I told him not to do anything fucking rash.” Shulk held his hand out towards Luigi and narrowed his eyes. “I think I can heal him.” Dark Pit shot a dirty look at Shulk who ignored it. “I can perform some ether arts to heal him.” 

Wolf, Ike and Meta Knight looked between themselves and nodded. “Please do.” Ike moved aside to allow Shulk to do his healing. Shulk took a deep breath and let his ether concentrate once more on his fingers, the blue Monado lines on his skin glowing slightly as he ran his fingers over Luigi’s bruises and burns. The entire group silent as he did so, watching Shulk work his ether. 

‘He did this… you should go wild… don’t you just want to go ape shit and tear him to shreds already?’ The sickening booming voice of his dragon half coaxed him as Corrin shook his head and clutched at it, pricking his scalp with his sharp claws, drawing a bit of blood that stained his silver hair. ‘Just let it all out, feast on the one whom you desire to destroy… He destroyed your friends and if you don’t defeat him now… more lives will be lost… Succumb to your feral desires.’ Corrin’s eyes opened wide as his lips slowly parted, his fangs growing sharper and longer as he drew back a hiss, pupils going thinner into slits.

Corrin let out a snarl, causing Wolf, Ike, Meta Knight and Pit to look at him. “What’s wrong Corrin?” Pit asked, looking around them as Corrin continued to snarl, growl and hiss at the emptiness of the battlefield. Hackles raised as Corrin crawled onto all fours, tail sweeping behind him dangerously as he raised his wings high. Scales began to run up Corrin’s cheek, silver and tough as they began to coat and cover his face, his burning crimson eyes losing a bit of their blue colour as he continued to growl at seemingly nothing. “Marx isn’t there. Come on snap out of it! Corrin!” Pit cried out to no avail as Corrin lunged out at the emptiness before him, raking his claws across the air just as Marx reappeared once more, however the chains that restrained the movement of his arms caused him to fall short of his swing and crash into the ground, which he quickly recovered from with a snarl. Admittedly the entire group was surprised that Corrin was even able to sense Marx’s location before he even showed up.

Marx screeched and held his wings over his eyes as he whimpered and cried before the cries turned into maniacal laughter as he removed his wings to reveal entirely black eyes. The colour sent a shiver down the group’s spine as black balls began to fall from Marx’s void eyes and bounce around, aiming to crash straight into the group. Corrin snarled and his tail lashed out, managing to hit the dark balls away but burning his tail in the process, causing a howl of pain to echo from his lips. Ike and Wolf roared out a battle cry as Wolf threw up his Shine reflector and Ike swung Ragnell in front across him. Pit, Dark Pit and Toon got up and began to swipe their weapons at the balls of darkness, the black spheres harmlessly bouncing off their weapons but immediately hit the floor and bounced right back at them. They deflected it over and over again, preventing them from reaching Shulk and Luigi, the latter of which was slowly healing. 

Soon the black balls disintegrated before their eyes and Wolf called out to the group. “No time! Back up the Lizard-boy! That jester will pay for what he did!” The resounding “Right!” from the group was clear enough as all who were able rushed at Marx who was still trying to wipe the claw marks off his face. Corrin slammed his entire weight into Marx, growling and snarling as his claws ripped through Marx’s wings, chains echoing across the battlefield as the jester doubled backwards towards the larger group. Wolf let out a howl and raked his claws straight into Marx’s back, leaving a huge red scar that spilled out with black and purple light particles. Wolf hissed out a breath as he then swung his body over and kicked the Jester straight at Ike who brought down Ragnell straight into the ground causing an eruption of blue flames to surge from the ground. The blue flames scorched and burned Marx, charring his wings and body as the jester let out his unending screech of pain. “Now!” 

Ike bent over and allowed the angels to leap off his back, both angels holding Meta Knight whom they both flung towards Marx as the galaxy knight swiped his sword right in front of Marx and missed, earning a ‘tsk’ from Meta Knight as Marx let out a giggle. “Oh poor Knight of the Galaxy, lost your ability to judge distances eh? You missed!” Marx laughed with a mocking cry as Meta Knight seemed to chuckle back. “Wrong, I was a stepping stone.” Leaping off Pit and Dark Pit before using Meta Knight’s back as a launch platform, was Toon Link as he charged his Master Sword right into Marx’s forehead, stabbing right through Marx’s head, the sword appearing out the other side of Marx as they plummeted towards the ground at a breakneck pace. Toon squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for impact but felt no pain, instead feeling warm arms around him followed by the soft sound of jingling chains. Toon finally wrenched his eyes open, coming face to face with Corrin who smiled weakly at Toon. “You came back!” Toon laughed out with a wavering voice as he brought his hands around Corrin’s neck with a hug, nuzzling into Corrin’s scales that were slowly melting back into human skin.

‘Yeah. Thanks to the sound of chains.’ Corrin’s thoughts whispered to Toon as he landed safely on the ground with Toon in hand, wings folding neatly behind him. Placing Toon on the ground, the entire group turned around to look at Marx who spluttered and coughed on the ground, leaking black and purple dust from his multiple wounds. “I… I just wanted to play… I just wanted to play… I just wanted to play. IF I CAN’T PLAY THEN NO ONE CAN!” 

A strong and agonizing ache slammed Shulk in the head, as he groaned out behind the group, he had just finished healing Luigi when his vision began to swim, it hurt so much as his head got stabbed, bashed in by some armus and then replaced into his skull. He clutched at his head as his vision turned blue before him. He saw it, the explosion, the charred bodies, the smell of corpses and burnt meat… It all felt disgusting, wrong, utterly putrid. He stopped himself from hurling on the spot and he choked down a stale breath as he watched the vision unfold. He didn’t want this… he didn’t want them to die… they all worked so hard… he could no longer stay on the sidelines. He could not just stand there and do nothing. What was more important? His body or his friends? The answer was obvious.

Shutting his eyes and forcing his body to turn, Shulk gripped onto the hilt of Replica and ran out in front of the group. “NERD!” Dark Pit cried out when he saw Shulk draw out Replica, the blue energy blade bursting out in a bright illuminating light as Shulk swung it in front of him. “Don’t you fucking dare do it!” Shulk bit his lip and shook his head. “I have to change the future! I am sorry Dark Pit!” Dark Pit spluttered out, “SHULK!” 

Shulk allowed the ether to condense around him as he drew the energy around him into a swirling vortex, he breathed in deeply as the lines on his body began to morph into a light orange colour and he opened up his eyes once more, one side turquoise and the other a bright orange with the word for ‘armour’ reflected inside. He swung his blade around him, coating the group in a giant ether shield, glowing orange, bright and warm. “Monado Armour!” Shulk cried out just as Marx’s body exploded into a giant ball of purple and black flames. The barrier Shulk conjured shielded the group from the brunt of the explosion though the force was still felt in the ground as the entire island began to shake and crumble beneath them in the process. 

It was just like Dracula…

Shulk felt the lights dance across his face, gold mingled with the worried looks on all his friends as he fell back, body weak and numb from ether deficiency as he fell with them into the darkness below. The last he could hear was the cold, arrogant voice he had been hearing all day, unforgiving and almost scary.

_’The time has finally come.’_


	20. Golden Monado

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry.

### Chapter 20: Golden Monado

‘Shulk… Shulk, you need to wake up.’ 

His head felt as heavy as lead and Shulk squeezed his eyes shut, groaning, refusing to lift his aching head off the solid resistance below him. He weakly held his hand to his forehead and hissed out in pain, letting it fall next to his face as he stared blankly at the universe full of stars before him. He was floating once more, in that weird place in his dreams, that cosmic environment surrounded by planets and stars. 

‘Shulk, we do not have time. You must listen to me.’

A heavy breath escaped from Shulk’s lips as he slowly held his hands in front of him, pushing him up against the aching cries of his body into a sitting position on the stars as he looked up, eyes dazed and mind in a whir as he stared at Alvis with with hazy turquoise eyes. “Alvis… What do you mean?” He shook his head and held his fingers to his forehead, and pressed against it with a slight groan, only then did he notice that his fingers and palm were painted with the blue Monado lines… they were not there the last time he was here… “Alvis… what? I thought you said that-” 

‘The Monado cannot reach us here? Indeed I did.’ Alvis calmly walked around and kneeled in front of Shulk, running his own fingers down the back of Shulk’s hand, tracing the glowing blue lines. ‘Unfortunately, the influence of the Monado has grown deeper into your consciousness and I am unable to separate you far enough from it.’ Alvis paused and held out a hand to Shulk, pulling Shulk to his feet. Shulk felt his knees give way beneath him and Alvis caught him once more, supporting Shulk to his feet. 

“Alvis…” Shulk began dryly, his voice hoarse and weak. “What is happening to me? My body… it-” Alvis hushed Shulk down and nodded. ‘I know you are full of questions, but we do not have the time to answer all your questions right now. You will wake up soon, I can hear your friends calling for you, but you must at least listen to me this one time.’ Shulk slowed his breathing to a rhythmic pace and nodded weakly against Alvis’ support. 

‘Shulk… do not lose your mind. It is important that you remember who you are and who you treasure. Your friends back on the Bionis and your friends here waiting for you to save this world with them. Do not forget them. Do not forget your purpose. Do not lose yourself to Zanza.’

Shulk wanted to ask who Alvis was referring to. Shulk wanted to ask Alvis how he knew so much. Shulk wanted to ask Alvis who on Bionis was Zanza. But he couldn’t. There was no opportunity for that as he felt himself swimming back into the darkness of the void.

* * *

Shulk twitched at the mess of noise around him, muttering, shouting and hands ghosting over his face. He flinched slightly at the light that hit his closed eyelids and he let out another groan from his lips, eyes of bright turquoise finally cracking open, blinking out the spots of bright light that danced across his vision before they focused on the concerned and worried expressions around him. His jaw felt heavy and stiff when he tried to move them, his throat felt dry and his chest heaved in blooming pain. He still couldn’t hear their voices clearly, it was all muffled and confusing to his ears so when he saw their mouths moving, he could only shake his head and hiss in pain. 

He watched Dark Pit and Corrin pull away from him and seemed to exchange a few words before he heard a voice echo in his head. ‘Are you alright?’ Shulk belatedly realised it was Corrin’s thoughts speaking to him. Shulk muttered something under his breath, concluding that his voice was indeed as weak as he expected. He couldn’t hear himself respond clearly but he saw everyone’s face scrunch up in worry as they began to hold ether crystals in front of his face once more. 

He didn’t complain, he did not even try to fight back against the hands that forced the crystals down his throat, washing it down with water. Strange… When did the water taste bland like sand? Shulk lay there, not fighting back, weak and defeated as he allowed himself to be babied by his companions until he found the strength slowly returned to his body. The ether within him surged with every new crystal he swallowed and his senses began to clear. First it was his sight as he watched the faces of his friends get clearer and sharper, watching their faces filled with concern and worry, their mouths moving in spluttered shouts of concern. He heard their voices next, from the heartbreaking cries of Toon who cried into his jacket, Pit calling his name, Dark Pit directing the proceedings and Corrin was just watching. He felt his arms twitch beside him as he finally found the strength to pull himself up. Lastly his voice. 

“Thank you.” Shulk finally managed to choke out from his dry throat, his voice was weak and hoarse, almost like a whisper as he had feared. He was tackled back onto the ground by both Pit and Toon, soaking him in their tears and cries of worry and panic. Shulk gently moved his shaking arm across them and hugged them closer to himself, finding sweet comfort in their warmth and voices as he looked up at Dark Pit. The dark angel had a sour scowl on his face and huffed out. Shulk knew he should not have done that, using Monado Armour, but he knew it had to be done and from Dark Pit not coming after him… perhaps he agreed too. Though he obviously did not look happy about the decision whatsoever. He then let his gaze fall upon Corrin who was now sitting next to him, his tail twitching impatiently behind him, as if he wanted to tell Shulk something but was holding it back for now. So he waited.

Shulk slowly managed to gather himself together and assure them that he was feeling much better, his head was still spinning, reeling in pain from what he remembered. He remembered seeing Alvis in space, Alvis told him something… what was it? It was at the tip of his tongue but he just could not grasp it. It was like a fever dream all over again, his memory of what he saw in his unconscious state was like a hazy memory. 

‘Shulk…’ Corrin’s voice cutting through his thoughts as Shulk gingerly raised his head up to look at Corrin. Corrin’s red eyes with hints of blue were dilated now, quite a difference from what they normally were, slits. Corrin rattled the chains on his wrists slightly as he pointed and gestured at Shulk. ‘Have you seen yourself?’ Shulk’s mind was slow to comprehend Corrin’s words so the dragon half-blood reached over, gently raising up Shulk’s arm to his face. That was when the wretched feeling filled his gut. 

The golden lines he had tried so hard to hide from the group was now travelling down his arm. It was on the lower part of his arm now, far beyond what his sleeves could cover up. The gold was sickening, it was solid and it made Shulk feel sick when he looked at it. It glimmered and stayed when Shulk hastily took his arm from Corrin and tried to wipe it off, but the gold colour persisted. He tried to pull his sleeves down to cover them but they were far too short for that now. Panic filled his mind like a mist and he began to breathe faster, shallower and more rapidly. He looked at his own body in fear, clutching his arms around himself as he felt the need to hurl. His gaze moving onto his legs where the same gold colour had begun to spread, burning him, emblazoning him with its golden marks. It felt wrong. Shulk wanted to hurl. Shulk scratched at his own skin, his nails digging deep into his skin in attempts to scratch away the lines that were now seared into his body with gold. He dug deeper into his skin, tearing at it until it drew a bit of blood and then his arms were wrestled away from him and put behind him.

Shulk fought for breath amidst his panic and fear, his eyes quivering and shifting between Pit, Dark Pit, Toon and Corrin who held his arms behind his back firmly with one hand. He couldn’t hear their voices over his panic, but he could feel their comforting touch as they helped to patch up the scratches and abrasions he had inflicted on himself. Corrin’s thoughts were the only thing that managed to break through the fog that covered his mind’s rational thought. ‘Calm down…’ Corrin’s thoughts rang soothingly and slow. ‘Breathe with me… It will all be ok…’ Shulk felt Corrin’s breaths against the back of his neck and he sucked in a breath. In and out. In and out. In and out. Until he finally managed to bring his breathing back into a more manageable pace. 

Corrin released his hold on Shulk’s arms and Shulk just let them fall to his side weakly. He finally cleared his mind and his rational thought was slowly ebbing back to him when he finally managed to open his mouth and speak once more. “I am sorry…” Shulk croaked out, refusing to look at anyone. He wanted to run away from them and wallow in his own fear, fear of what was happening to him when he felt the comfort and warmth of the hugs around him. “It's okay…” He kept hearing around him as he closed his eyes slowly and nodded. 

Toon and Pit drew away from Shulk, giving the seer sometime to recollect himself before Pit piped back up again. “Shulk those lines… Are you sure you will be fine?” Shulk bit his lip, he knew he would be lying if he said yes, and Pit would probably be able to read him, so he held himself back. “If we finish off Dharkon and save this world, I think we will be able to figure out what's going on with me and fix it.” He decided to say instead, it wasn’t a lie neither was it the truth. Pit furrowed his brow at the answer but seemed to accept it as Shulk ran his fingers up Toon’s back, the young Hylian choked with sobs and tears. Shulk took a deep breath and pulled Toon away from him, flashing the young Hero of Winds a smile, well as much of a smile as he could before the tiny sailor wiped his sore red eyes with a tiny nod.

His gaze finally made it to Dark Pit who scowled and grunted at him. “No more Monado arts. Got it? This is the last straw.” Shulk sighed in defeat, letting his head fall to his chest . “Alright,” he agreed as Corrin offered Shulk his shoulder with a whine. Shulk chuckled weakly and leaned against Corrin as the dragon helped him up onto his feet. His feet struggled to find purchase on the floor or the strength to hold himself up for the time being, but Shulk did not want to worry his comrades any further and told himself that he would get the strength back soon. When he finally was on his feet, he looked up at his group and noticed a lack of people or well fighters around them.

“Where did Wolf and Ike’s team go?” Shulk asked as he squinted, narrowing his eyes around the small area that they found themselves in, coincidentally was at the place where they first entered the portal into the Mysterious Dimension. Dark Pit huffed out and gestured towards the South as Pit smiled. “Wolf and Ike’s team went up ahead. We told them to go on without us for now. They are probably off to fight Dharkon now that we heard something shatter in the distance.” Shulk was content with the reply and let his head fall in relief. Deep down inside he was worried that the fight with Marx was all a dream and that he had failed to save them back then, but Pit’s words seemed to relieve the burden on his chest as Shulk nodded. 

“We should get going too.” Shulk advised as the entire group shot him a worried look. “You have to be fucking kidding me, nerd. We can’t go balls deep into the fight with Dharkon while you are this weak. At least fucking heal up first before we leave.” Shulk shook his head, as he insisted, “No we must go now. The sooner we defeat Dharkon, the faster we can find a cure for all of us.” Dark Pit could not argue with that logic and scratched the back of his head, muttering curses under his breath. “Shulk is right…” Pit murmured, looking up at Dark Pit with a wide blue eye shimmering. “Faster we defeat Dharkon, the faster we can get Shulk some help. Maybe we might find Doctor Mario to heal him!” Dark Pit shot Pit a dirty look. “I doubt that quack doctor will help him but. Fuck I guess you are right.” 

Shulk gestured for Corrin to let him be and Corrin obliged, the dragon-mix moving away slightly and watching as Shulk finally could stand up on his own. Toon circled around Shulk, making sure he was alright before Shulk flashed Toon a thumbs up and the sailor seemed satisfied. “Then we should not waste any more time. Let’s go find Dharkon-” 

“You won’t have to go anywhere to find me…” A dark, cold and dreary voice echoed from behind them as the group instinctively turned around, drawing their weapons instantly in a swift movement, pointing their weapons or bearing their fangs at Dharkon. Tentacles and tendrils of deep black, twisted with a dark purple-colour vein-pattern around them that curved outwards into a sharp red tip. The tentacles folded, slimy and creepy around the singular eye of blue and yellow that was Dharkon. The embodiment of chaos let out a laugh, cold, heavy and loud as the eyeball focused it’s gaze upon Shulk. 

Shulk felt his skin crawl with fear and cold sweat as Dharkon’s gaze travelled long his body, watching him, observing him with a hunger that he could not recognize until the eyeball spoke up once more. “There you are… I have been awaiting your arrival… Come, allow us to join forces and defeat them all. We shall have it all to ourselves!” Dharkon let out a loud bellow as the group held their arms in front of their faces with a mild shockwave he produced with his voice. “Who on this fucking planet are you talking to? We will never join forces with you, fuck face!” Dark Pit retaliated back with a sharp sour tone. Dharkon merely chuckled deeply, his cackles sending shivers down Shulk’s spine. “I wasn’t talking to you dark angel.” 

His gaze once more fixated on Shulk. “I was talking to the god over there.” God? Shulk opened his mouth to speak but when he tried, no voice came out. “It’s been a long time coming. Let us conquer it all together Zanza.” 

A sharp pain stabbed through Shulk’s head and Shulk felt himself gasp in pain, he clutched at his head as a red hot fire began to sear his insides. His organs churning, burning, aching and threatening to kill him from the inside as he held back a scream. His nails digging into his scalp, pulling at his hair, but nothing could compare to the throbbing pain in his head. Shulk gnawed on the insides of his cheek, trying his hardest to keep his screams at bay as the pain continued to sear his entire body. For a brief moment he felt the warm touch of his comrades and friends around him, desperately trying to help him, but soon he could not feel their touch over the intense pain that rocked his body. Molten lava scorched his skin, knives stabbing through his head, grinders mixing up his internal organs and replacing them in a never ending cycle of sheer agony. He felt like he got skewered right in his stomach as he let out a choked gasp. Finally he couldn’t hold it back anymore. 

Shulk screamed.

His screams echoing across the darkness of the Dark Realm, travelling far and wide, voice filled with pain, fear, agony. He knew that his friends were trying to help him, he knew they were, but that didn’t stop the pain from engulfing his whole body, burning him, stabbing him, tearing his skin off layer by layer from his body. The golden lines of the Monado began to flare up, the gold travelling down further and further and ending when it covered all the lines on his body with the solid gold colour. Only the lines of his face were left the usual blue but the gold was slowly crawling up his neck. Slowly but surely, the lines were flooded with a gold colour as Shulk’s screams reached its max intensity. 

And then suddenly the screams began to twist, morphing into a sinister laugh, one that struck fear, making everyone freeze where they were as Shulk’s hands slowly moved away from his head. “Sh-Shulk?” Toon managed to whisper out, holding a hand towards Shulk only for it to be grabbed by the boy glowing with a sickening gold colour. Toon stared into Shulk’s eyes, no longer the warm turquoise he had grown to love, but a very cold pale blue. A smug grin painted itself upon Shulk’s lips and Toon shivered. “Shulk?” Toon called out again only for the grip around his wrist to tighten. The tiny Hylian whimpered in pain as Dark Pit called out. “Oi! Let him go fucking nerd! What the fuck do you think you are doing to him?” 

“Cease your useless talking, sorry excuse for a divine messenger.” Shulk’s voice was cold, grating and unbearably tight and Dark Pit froze right, his body wracked with fear. “I am not the one you once knew. Stop calling me by that blasted name.” ‘Shulk’ dropped Toon back onto the ground, the tiny sailor landing on the ground with a giant thud and a whimper of pain, clutching at his bruised wrist as Pit slowly crawled over and took Toon away from ‘Shulk’. ‘Shulk’ chuckled as he lifted his fingers to his face, admiring the golden colour that stained his skin, proud, almost too proud. “My name is Zanza.”

“Z-Zanza?” Pit choked out, trying to help soothe Toon’s bruised wrist as he sat on the floor. “Wh-What did you do with Shulk?” Pit screamed out at Dharkon and the God of Darkness and Chaos merely laughed. “Me I did nothing. All I did was call for Zanza. That is all.” He drawled, voice laced with malice. Zanza reached behind him, drawing Replica, allowing for the blade’s energy beam to dance with a golden colour. “He was never here, not anymore. You should rejoice. For you are now in my divine presence.” Zanza smiled as he turned around, bright golden light shimmering around Shulk’s body as two golden wings of pure light sprouted from behind them, a golden halo appearing above his head that complemented the wings, glowing in tandem with the golden lines that stained his skin. Zanza began to hover in the air above the ground, his sharp gaze upon the group below him.

‘Give us Shulk back!’ Corrin snarled, his thoughts ringing clear in the air as Zanza scoffed. “Stupid lizard. I told you before. He isn’t here anymore.” Zanza crossed his legs and sat on the air with a wry smirk, something that looked way too unnatural and made the group uncomfortable seeing that emotion on Shulk’s face. “Normally I would punish you for showing such insolence towards a god, but I have high hopes for all of you.” Zanza held out a hand, fingers decorated with golden lines, sickeningly golden lines. 

“... You have done well serving me. Let me give you a choice. It's simple really. Either you continue to serve under me or you die.” The immediate answer was unanimous, a resounding “NEVER!” rang in the air as Zanza drew back his hand with a scowl. “We will never serve under you! You sorry, pathetic excuse of a so-called god!” Dark Pit hissed out. “I have seen gods act better than you! You are a good for nothing fucker who is stealing our friends body! Give Shulk back to us, You fuck!” 

With a cry, Dark Pit leaped out at Zanza, brandishing his silver bow as he tried to slice at Zanza only for him to stop short when he saw Shulk’s face. He hesitated and that was enough for Zanza to flick Dark Pit away, sending the dark angel crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust. Coughing, Dark Pit struggled to pull himself back up as Corrin ran over and tried to help him up. “I offer you opportunities beyond this world! And you still dare to defy me? So be it.” Zanza scowled as he hovered up higher into the air, holding a ball of light in his fingers with a wry grin. An arrow was let loose, grazing over Zanza’s shoulder and cutting the strap of the bag that Shulk carried his items in. The bag fell to the ground with a thud and Toon was holding his bow at Zanza, his fingers quivering and shaking in both fear and pain. Zanza’s eyes twisted into that of a cold fury as he hovered down and shot a weak blast of energy straight at Toon who tumbled across the ground and landed next to Shulk’s bag. 

“Weak. I offered you so much more and you dare defy me? You dare refuse such great offers? You could have been disciples to me! I could have granted you power!” Zanza roared out as he grinded a foot into Toon’s back, the young Hylain threw his body over Shulk’s bag trying to protect its contents as he let out a howl of pain from Zanza’s weight. A snarl and a roar as Corrin lashed out at Zanza only to be back-handed away with a single slap, sending Corrin tumbling away and landing in the ground in a heap, wings twisted and tail limp on the ground. “Stupid reptile. A beast should know their place. On the ground. Not baring their fangs at me.” Zanza hissed as he removed his foot from Toon to hover once more. 

Once again that scary, unfitting smirk painted Shulk’s lips as Zanza held up a ball of light. “Then you all shall perish.” A giant ray of light, a shockwave and a bright glow engulfed the group, sending across the land, in a smouldering heap. Smoke and ash thick in the air as Zanza drew his hand back in satisfaction before looking at Dharkon who was watching it all happen in mild amusement. “Dharkon is your name? I see you have an offer to make with me.” Zanza drawled as Dharkon chuckled. “Indeed I do, Zanza. Allow me to show you the world I have created and then we shall get along to conquering it together. After all that what you wanted right? A world where you can control.” Zanza seemed to smirk. “I see. Allow me to appreciate what you have done. I cannot wait to watch this world burn.”

In a flash of gold and purple, the two gods vanished instantly. 

Silence touched the battlefield, cold and desolate until the rubble began to tremble. A whine echoed from the dust of the battlefield as a giant silver dragon dragged itself out of the rubble. It’s head moving back and forth scanning the empty battlefield as it whined once more. It sniffed at the air and began to slowly drag itself across the battlefield. Its limbs wrapped up in blue chains, but that didn’t stop it from moving, dragging its injured body across the dusty wasteland. It drew itself up to the unconscious figures of two angels and a small Hylian as the dragon made a soft coo. Its jaws parted as it picked up the three knocked out fighters with its teeth, putting them on its back as it dragged itself, dripping blood, shedding scales across the battlefield, leaving a dark trail of blood in its path.

The pained, sorrowful cries of a dragon echoing.


	21. Dragon Tears for the Low Price of Kindness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters from here will come out slower. We have a lot of new faces in this one, its a slight unwinding chapter for a while.

### Chapter 21: Dragon Tears for the Low Price of Kindness

“Blood. It’s fresh.” Red muttered, kneeling down to touch the warm dark blood that stained the ground of the desolate battlefield. The blood was a deep, dark red colour, sticky to the touch as it coagulated on Red’s fingertips. He made a frown as he looked up at the trail of dark blood that trailed across the empty wasteland, scorched and covered in ash, towards the horizon. Whatever spilled this blood was clearly badly injured, judging from the volume of blood and how the trail was still fresh, and if it was escaping from the battlefield with those sorts of injuries, it should not have gone far, Red concluded. 

“What did you find?” The curious yet stern voice called out to Red as the Pokemon Trainer stood up and turned to his companions. Fox made his way over to Red’s side as he too bent down to examine the blood trail. His eyes squinting off into the distance as he tried to pinpoint where the trail led off to. “Something must have gotten into a big fight here, sustained serious injuries and tried to escape.” Red informed Fox just as Falco stepped forward and clicked his beak at the distance. “Do you think it’s even alive at this point? For all we know it could be a puppet-” Fox shot a dark look at his partner, “Don’t say that Falco. We all know that puppets don’t spill blood. It’s definitely one of us warriors.” Falco shrugged and sighed. “I was just trying to lighten up the mood.” 

Red sighed and whistled as a small tiny bipedal canine-like pokemon leaped out of Falco’s Landmaster and hurried over to Red’s side, eyes ablaze with concern, position steadfast and ready to carry out the orders of Red as needed. “Riolu can you sense any auras in the vicinity?” Riolu nodded and closed its eyes, sitting on the ground cross-legged as it allowed itself to concentrate, the two tear-drop-like appendages on the side of its head lifting up in response as the pokemon began to examine the surrounding energy. The whole group watched in silence as Riolu slowly opened its eyes once more, before it flashed a ‘4’ at Red. “Four? You sensed four auras?” Riolu nodded and pointed in the direction of the blood trail. 

“Then we should hurry.” Fox advised with a huff as he began to climb into Falco’s Arwing that was docked on top of the Landmaster. “The sooner we get to those guys, the sooner we can help them. Who knows, with that amount of blood, they might be on the verge of death.” Falco and Red nodded as the rest of the group clambered into Falco’s Landmaster and Falco revved up the vehicle. With a splutter of smoke and a roar from the engine, the Landmaster shot off across the desolate wasteland, following the dark blood trail that began to look like it was getting thicker and thicker as they followed it. Until they saw where it led to, a giant cave in a small mountain range. “Stop the Landmaster, Falco!” Fox ordered and Falco jammed on the brakes, causing them to fling forward with the momentum, Red nearly slamming face first into Falco who was driving. 

“What was that for Fox? You can’t just stop like that-” Fox hushed Falco with a shrill growl. “Shut up Falco. Something isn’t right.” Fox muttered as he disembarked from the docked Arwing and jumped down onto the ground next to the cave entrance. His paws moved over the ground and picked up a small silver scale hidden amongst the blood and ash. “I suspect that whatever we were following might be a wild animal. These scales, it could either be Bowser, King K.Rool, Ridley, we don’t know. However...” Fox shot a look at Red as the Pokemon Trainer climbed out of the Landmaster, jogging up next to Fox to inspect the scale alongside him as Falco placed the Landmaster in a proper parking position. Red hummed as he looked at the scale and the fresh blood trail that led into the cave and nodded. “If it's any of those three, we might scare them more if the Landmaster makes any more noise. A feral animal always needs space and we need to be calm and quiet when approaching it.” Falco scoffed as he too came out of the Landmaster. 

Red called for Riolu and informed the tiny aura pokemon to keep watch of the cave entrance before he picked out two pokeballs. “Bulbasaur! Charmeleon!” The two pokemon burst out of their Pokeballs with their eyes alight with the fire of battle, ready to fight when Red hushed them down. “Charmeleon, protect the cave entrance with Riolu. Bulbasaur, come with me, Fox and Falco.” The two Pokemon looked between each other and nodded as Red gave the thumbs up to Fox and Falco. “We will proceed with caution.” Fox seemed satisfied with the notion and shifted to his headset, reconfiguring and gave it to Red. “These will allow you to see in the dark, I don’t need it as much as you will.” Fox smirked and Red thanked the Star Fox commander with a nod, placing the headset over his head and activating the night vision function. 

The four slowly made their way through the cave, being careful of how they tread across the rocky cavern floors, making sure not to even disturb a loose stone or pebble. Soon Fox froze and held out his arm in front of Red and Falco with a sharp hush. “Keep quiet.” Fox hissed out as his ears flicked back and forth apprehensively. Fox closed his eyes and listened intently, he heard something rumbling in the depths of the cave. Heavy breathing, very laboured and slow, accompanied by the very deep hisses of pain, slight growls that echoed from inside the cave. Fox opened his eyes and looked at Red and Falco with a hushed gesture. “There is something at the end of the cave. It definitely sounds like its suffering, but it doesn’t sound very friendly. Red, do you think you will be able to handle it?” Red nodded confidently. “I have dealt with a lot of crazed and wild pokemon. I will do my best.” 

Turning around a final twist in the cave, Fox threw out his arm, stopping the group as they all sucked in a sharp breath at the scene before them. A giant silver dragon sat in the deepest part of the cave, its wings wrapped around its body like a cocoon, tail coiled tightly around its body as well. A giant puddle of black blood flooded the rocky earth, its silver scales that were once smooth and shiny were scarred, burnt and stained with black deep red blood. Its breaths were laboured, slow and pained as it lay its head on the ground, long neck wrapped next to the cocoon it made with its wings. With every sharp breath that the dragon heaved and wheezed, it tried to make a soft cooing noise, rumbling in its throat as it seemed to sing to the cocoon. 

Red and Fox were careful to keep their voices to themselves but Falco, was a little more rash. “Is that a dragon?” Red internally facepalmed and Fox shot Falco a dark, dirty look as they suddenly froze as the dragon raised its head from the ground. Sharp growls and hisses escaped from the dragon as its jaws parted to bare its fangs at Fox, Falco and Red. Bulbasaur jumped out in front of Red, vines whipping at the ground trying to challenge the dragon but Red held his Pokemon back with a shake of his head. “Leave it to me.” He whispered to Fox, Bulbasaur and Falco as he dug into his bag. The silver dragon hissed and growled at Red, its wings wrapping tighter and tighter around its body, its tail tense and coiled around its body. It began to shrink away from Red, hissing and snarling. 

Typical behaviour for an injured animal, but it's not prioritizing itself. It's protecting something. Red’s eyes moved over to its wings that were wrapped tightly around its body and a lightbulb went off in his head. Red reached into his bag and the dragon hissed and growled at him but Red hushed the dragon with soothing,calm words. “It's alright. I mean you no harm.” He whispered to the dragon as he slowly drew out a handful of berries: Oran, Sitrus, Pecha and Lum. Red placed each one slowly on the ground and laid it out for the dragon before slowly backing away. The dragon stopped growling as it slowly lifted its head towards the berries, its long neck stretching over and sniffing at the berries. The dragon lacked any eyes but Red could feel its gaze upon him, watching, observing him. Red nodded and gestured gently to the berries. “You are hungry aren’t you? Eat up. We mean you no harm.” Red coaxed the silver dragon as he backed away even more to give the dragon some space. 

The dragon tilted its head towards Red and slowly parted its jaws, revealing sharp canines and fangs as it picked up the berries and began to chew on it. It picked up the berries one by one, chewing a little before swallowing it whole. After it seemed to have eaten a little, it left a few as it began to nudge the berries into a small pile and slowly brought it over to its wing cocoon and cooed, nudging at something inside its wings and then trying to push the fruit inside its wings. Red knew the signs, and that was the last piece of evidence he needed. He took a small step forward and the dragon immediately turned to snarl but Red held up a hand. “It's alright. I won’t hurt you. We are here to help you.” Red turned to Fox and Falco who nodded in agreement. The dragon paused and drew back a little, its head turning left and right, as it watched the group for a moment as Red pulled out a small medical kit meant for his Pokemon and smiled warmly. “I promise, we are here to help you.” 

The dragon visibly relaxed and its head fell to the ground, weak and defeated from trying to put up a strong front as Red slowly crawled his way over to the dragon and gingerly placed a hand on the dragon’s head, rubbing its scales with a soft touch. A coo echoed from the dragon’s throat as Red gently gave it an affectionate pet on the head, and slowly coaxed the dragon to relax. Fox and Falco watched in awe as Red finally managed to calm and tame the dragon to the point where the dragon began to lick at Red’s hand. The trainer chuckled slightly as he had Bulbasaur move over to him, the seed pokemon lumbered over and allowed the dragon to sniff at it, a slight huff from the dragon as proof of acknowledgement. “Alright Fox, Falco. Slowly approach him, no sudden movements.” Fox followed the instructions without complaint, a stern look as he slowly crept up to the dragon and placed his paw on the dragon’s snout, the dragon snorting and licking his face, causing the Leader of Star Fox to chuckle in return at the slimy but welcoming tongue. Falco seemed a bit more hesitant to be slobbered but sucked in a breath and did the same, although his face showed all his disgust from being acknowledged by the dragon, left in slobber. 

Red then moved his fingers to the dragon’s horns and whispered to it. “We can help you. Please let us treat you.” The dragon whined a little bit under Red’s gentle words as it finally relaxed as its wings began to unfurl around its body and tail shifted away. Fox and Falco couldn’t help but gasp at what the dragon was hiding. The bruised, bloodied and battered bodies of Toon, Pit and Dark Pit lay in the dragon’s wings, unconscious and barely breathing. The dragon itself seemed to have a giant wound on its side, which was where the blood was dripping from. Red immediately calmed the dragon down as Fox and Falco went to work to help treat the injured group. Fox directed Falco on who was the most serious, Dark Pit, while he worked on Toon. Red continued to soothe and calm the dragon as he slowly helped to patch up the dragon’s own wounds. 

“I can’t believe it!” Falco squawked out as he sprayed a bit more medicine onto Dark Pit’s bruises and wrapped them with clean bandages. “I saw these two just a few days ago. What on earth happened to them?” Falco looked over at Fox who shook his head. “We will have time for questions later when they wake up. Focus on the task at hand, Falco.” Falco clicked his beak together and nodded as he continued to treat the wounds alongside Fox and Red. Bulbasaur was assisting Red in covering up the large injury on the silver dragon who lay its head on the ground, whining. It was a few more minutes worth of tense silence and handiwork until the injuries were completely covered. Fox and Falco fell back with heavy pants and breaths as Red slowly moved over to rub the dragon’s head. Now they had to wait for the answers. 

“I swear.” Falco panted out between heavy breaths. “I swear that this group of Toon Link and Pit also had one more guy with them. Argh it was…” Falco snapped his feathers together. “Right, they had Shulk with them! But... “ The bird narrowed his eyes at the group, “I don’t see him anywhere.” The dragon seemed to tense up at the mention of Shulk’s name and Red noticed its change in body movement. Its wings pressed behind its back and its tail still and almost scared, moving between its legs. Red held a hand over the dragon’s head and nearly jumped out of his skin. 

‘Why…’ A ringing thought in his head echoed, cold and distant as he drew a hand from the dragon instantly and the thought faded from his head. Fox and Falco looked at him weirdly for a second before they too began to hear the thoughts ringing in their mind. ‘Why… Why did this have to happen…?’ They looked between each other and then at the dragon, the dragon breathed in slowly and deeply as the voice in the heads picked up again. ‘Is it because I didn’t say anything…? Could I have stopped it…?’ Fox slowly moved over to the dragon and placed his forehead to the dragon’s head. “Talk to us.” Fox breathed out slowly despite Red’s wild gestures to leave the dragon alone. “Talk to us. We are here to help you. Tell us what happened.”

The dragon tensed and slowly began to shift, its wings moving and tails sweeping the rocky floor. Yet there was no answer, it was almost as if the rational part of the dragon’s mind had sunk deeper into the dark lake of its consciousness, unable to understand or answer Fox’s query. Fox’s face was painted with utter disappointment and concern as he held out his paws over the dragon’s head once more. Instantly the dragon seemed to perk up and whine in delight at the touch. Its tail began to wag, shaking back and forth as its tongue lolled out at the touch, nuzzling into Fox’s paws and the Leader of Star Fox was taken by utmost surprise. Red stared at the dragon in utter shock, he had never expected a wild beast like this to go completely docile all of a sudden. Of course, they didn’t complain, the dragon’s body language suggested that it completely trusted them now as the dragon rolled over to expose its belly to Fox. “He seems to like you Fox.” Red chuckled, folding his arms as Fox moved over to rub the dragon’s belly. “Who knows why. Though I won’t complain, since it means he won’t attack us anymore.” 

Fox played around with the dragon a bit more, making sure the dragon went completely docile under the supervision of Red before he let it lie there, tired from all the attention as it whined and settled down with a deep huff. Fox inspected the wounds of Toon, Pit and Dark Pit before nodding. “We will give them some space to recover. We cannot just leave them here like this.” Falco spluttered out as he jumped to his feet. “Are you crazy Fox? We promised Kirby’s group that we would meet up with them in a few hours!” Fox shot a sharp look at Falco. “I am the Leader of Star Fox, my orders are that we will stay here with this group until they heal up a bit more. We cannot leave them like this, Falco.” 

Red nodded in agreement. “Besides. If we leave them like this, we don’t know what might come to attack them while they are recovering and they might not be able to defend themselves.” Falco scoffed and sighed in defeat as he leaned against the cavern walls. “Fine, but I am not going to be responsible if we get told off.” Fox chuckled as he sat next to the silver dragon once more, rubbing under its chin and earning satisfied coos in return. Falco huffed and informed Fox he would be doing maintenance on the Landmaster and left Fox and Red in the cave. 

It was not long before one of the group’s members woke up, the one with the least serious injuries, Pit. 

Pit groaned and moved his right arm over his face when he finally swam back into the light, his one blue eye opening to meet Fox’s eyes as he sat up suddenly and hissed in pain from the injury at his abdomen. “Fox! Red! Ow ow ow…” Pit hissed out, clutching at the bandages as Fox moved over. “Take it easy Pit. You may not be as injured as the other two but you still need to rest.” Pit’s blue eye snapped open as he hastily looked around him, relieved to see that Dark Pit, Toon and Corrin was still with him. But not the last member. The memory swam about in Pit’s head like a tornado and he bit his lip. He was still confused over what had happened and he didn’t want to drag Fox’s team into their problem, so Pit chose for once, to keep it a secret. “Is Pittoo, Toon and Corrin ok?” Pit asked instead.

Fox rubbed the back of his head as Red came over to change Pit’s bandages. “Well Dark Pit and Toon Link suffered major injuries but Red, Falco and I managed to treat them. They just need a bit more to recover. And Corrin?” Fox raised an eye at Pit and before Pit could answer Red, piped up. “Is that silver dragon Corrin?” Pit nodded in response as Red sighed. “He definitely has seen better days. I managed to treat the large wound on his side so he will be fine, but I think we hit a roadblock.” Pit tilted his head at red’s ambiguous statement. “You see, Corrin isn’t acting himself, well as much as I remember how he acts.” Red gave a slight gaze to Fox and Fox sighed. “Alright.” 

The Leader of Star Fox moved over to Corrin’s side and whistled, causing the dragon’s head to immediately perk up, tongue lolling out as his tail wagged violently from side to side. Fox moved over next to Corrin and began to scratch Corrin under the chin, the dragon immediately went docile and turned over on his belly, exposing it for Fox to rub and massage as Pit gawked in utter shock. “Wh-What Corrin?” Red sighed, “Exactly our thoughts. Do you happen to know what is wrong with him?” Pit shook his head fervently. “Usually Corrin is quite rational, he never acts this way, in fact he told us before that he hated being treated like a beast.” Pit looked over at the silver dragon, dumbfounded. “It's almost like he lost his human rationality to his dragon side.” Red placed his fingers on his chin for a second to ponder on the possibility. “That's the most probable reason then. Logically speaking. His body language adds up with what most wild animals might do. Showing submission by exposing its belly, tail wagging and the likes.” 

“Well whatever the reason is.” Fox muttered as he pushed the dragon off him and told the dragon to rest, which the dragon complied, oddly enough. “He is most certainly incapable of explaining to us what on earth happened to all of you.” Fox sat on the ground next to Pit and eyed the angel sharply. “Care to explain?” Pit swallowed a hard lump as cold sweat began to form on his forehead. He didn’t want to tell them about Shulk… no he couldn’t… What if they treated Shulk as an enemy? Pit hesitated in his speech and was about to crack under the pressure when another voice spoke up, tone sour and bitter.

“Dharkon got to us. He kidnapped Shulk and left us in the dust.” Dark Pit huffed out as he too began to sit up, clutching at his bandages slightly, but not making as many complaints as Pit did about the pain that surged through his body. His single red eye gazing between Fox and Red and Dark Pit made a clicking sound with his tongue. “I will tell you everything.” 

Well Dark Pit lied, partially. He left out the truth about Shulk and explained to Fox and Red about Dharkon and how they managed to find him. He left out the part about Shulk… no Zanza’s sudden appearance and covered it up by saying Dharkon kidnapped Shulk. Somewhere in the middle of that Falco returned back to them to listen and Toon woke up towards the end of the partial truthful retelling. Fox hummed to himself in deep thought as he considered the situation. “Sounds like you guys had it real rough. We understand how much Dharkon is a threat from your story so we should act to subdue him fast.” 

“Too damn right!” Falco huffed out as he played with the cap of the cylinder hanging from his belt. “Dharkon suddenly released a whole mass of puppets on the Dark Realm so the entire place is crawling with puppets. Not very fun if you ask me, we are constantly being interrupted in our search to find him.” Falco scowled, making a clicking noise with his beak. Dark Pit seemed to understand Falco’s sentiments and huffed in response. “That sounds like fucking hell.” 

Red whispered something to Fox and Fox nodded as he side-eyed Falco for a moment. “Look guys, we have to go back to meet up with Kirby and let him know about Dharkon’s movements. So I will stay here with you guys-” Dark Pit scoffed, scowling at Fox. “We don’t need your sympathy or your charity. We are perfectly fine on our own.” Fox squinted at Dark Pit and crossed his arms in front of him. “Yeah but your injuries-” Dark Pit waved Fox off. “What do you take us for? Pussies? Weakling? Cowards? We can take care of ourselves.” Pit shot a look at Dark Pit, “Pittoo…” Pit began only to be interrupted by Dark Pit’s harsh glare. “Shut up Pit-stain. Let me do the fucking talking.” Pit frowned a little bit, furrowing his brow but Dark Pit’s eyes seemed to glint and Pit understood what Dark Pit’s intentions were, so he kept quiet.

Fox looked over his shoulder at Red and Falco and sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Are you sure?” Fox insisted once more as Dark Pit hissed and huffed back. “We are super fucking sure. Do you doubt our abilities?” Fox bit his lip and shook his head. “No, I don’t doubt it. We will let you be then. Thank you for being strong. We will see each other again soon and hopefully under better circumstances. We will leave you guys with all the medical supplies we have.” Fox sighed as he stood up ready to leave with his team when Pit called out to him. “Fox! Wait!” Pit fumbled with his satchel and pulled out the silver mirror he ‘stole’ from the Great Fox when they went to defeat Galeem and thrusted it into Fox’s paws. “I took that back when we borrowed the Great Fox. It's not broken I swear!” Fox raised an eye at Pit and inspected the mirror with a smirk. “I see. Well I am glad it’s not broken, but for taking my things without permission, you are going to have to repay the favour, Pit.” Pit waved Fox off with a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry, I am sure to make up for it.” 

“Don’t go dying on us.” Falco chuckled. “Or you won’t be able to repay all the debts you accumulated throughout this entire ordeal. Don’t wanna go to the afterlife with a bunch of regrets, do ya- Ow!” Falco rubbed the back of his head where Red slapped him, interrupting Falco before he said something mildly rude. Pit laughed back, Dark Pit wore a smirk on his face and Toon handed Bulbasaur back to Red as the group waved them goodbye and exited the cave. The engines revving of the Landmaster and the distant sound of machinery slowly moving further and further away.

Dark Pit groaned and leaned back against a wall in the cave, rocky and rough behind his back, further aggravating the slight ache in his wings as his single crimson eye shifted between Pit, Toon and Corrin. “You should understand fully well Pit-stain.” Dark Pit hissed out as Pit gulped and Toon moved over to inspect Corrin once more. “That if we told them the truth about Shulk, they might go after him too. I know they are our allies and all, but we cannot trust them to not kill Shulk, or well what remains of him.” Pit spluttered out as he clenched his fingers into a fist. “I still believe Shulk is in there! We were left alive weren’t we? Maybe-Maybe it's because Shulk stopped Zanza from outright killing us! He still has to be alive!” 

Dark Pit narrowed his eyes at Pit and snarled. “I don’t doubt that for a fucking second Pit-stain but how the fuck in this goddamned planet do you think we can even knock sense into Zan-whatever-the-fuck-his-name-is to give us back Shulk?” Pit grit his teeth together as he looked at the ground. “It's just like when Palutena was controlled by the Chaos Kin. A small fragment of Shulk still has to exist in his mind somewhere. We just have to pull him out!” “By what? Smooth talking Zanza? Good fucking luck on that Pit-stain! You saw how merciless he was, there is no way we can waltz up to him and say ‘Hi can we have some tea and talk it over?’ Fuck no!” Dark Pit growled back as Pit fell deflated on the floor. “Then… what should we do?” 

Dark Pit sighed, letting out a large huff of breath as he leaned against the cavern walls. “We rest. Fucking Corrin is not even his usual self. If we can’t get him to come back to his senses, we will have no chance of even facing Dharkon or Zanza to get Shulk back.” Pit looked up at Dark Pit, his blue eye shimmering with a glimmer. “You know Pittoo… for someone like you… you are awfully showing a lot of care and concern for Shulk-” Dark Pit made a loud clicking noise with his tongue to interrupt Pit. “Shut up Pit-stain. That Zanza fuck just drives me up the wall and I won’t back down until I kick his fucking ass in. I am going to rest for now.” Dark Pit turned away from Pit and used his one good wing to cover his face, ignoring the bright smile that painted Pit’s face. 

“You do care, Pittoo.”

“Shut up.”

Toon watched the two angels talk and bicker for a moment before giving up trying to make sense of what they were discussing when Dark Pit seemed to turn away to sleep. A sigh escaped the tiny sailor’s lips when he saw Pit rub the back of his head and move over to sleep next to Dark Pit. Toon ran a hand over Corrin’s head, feeling the smooth scales and watching as Corrin’s body rose and fell with each breath he took. Toon leaned himself against Corrin and shifted his hand to the side, brushing over a canvas material. He blinked slightly and looked down at the bag he managed to reclaim from Zanza before he disappeared. Tears brimmed behind his eyes as he brought the bag to his chest and hugged it, sobbing and whimpering into the bag as he fell asleep.

As sleep fell upon the camp, six orbs in Shulk’s bag began to glow.

* * *

“Link… Is that your name?” Link blinked his eyes slowly, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the spots in his vision. He was used to this by now, being able to ‘hear’ in his dreams. He had seen it before, multiple times, so he had more or less accepted that only in his dreams would he truly be able to hear. Yet this time felt different. It was a voice he had never heard before, new and light. His fingers brushed over the grassy plains he awoke on, tickled by the soft blades of grass under him as he turned his gaze to face the one who sat next to him. 

A young woman with long blonde hair falling just past her shoulders. Stunning green eyes and soft pale lips, her body though thin and fragile, Link could see that they were still strong and sturdy. She wore something akin to what Link found a bit revealing, but who was he to critique another’s fashion sense? He thought of himself as a fashion disaster after all. Link curled his knees to his chest as he looked at the young woman, eyes glimmering with curiosity. “Yeah, that is my name. People sometimes call me Kid or Pipsqueak or maybe Toon…” Link trailed off slightly as he observed the young woman push her hair back behind her ear to listen to the breeze.

“I see.” Her voice was smooth, calm and light, it filled Link with a sense of comfort and certain trust. Even though he did not know her. He sat there watching her for a moment as she enjoyed the breeze. “The breeze feels so good.” She managed to say after a while, her voice full of serenity. “Don’t you agree?” Link took the moment to chuckle slightly. “I can control the wind, I am the Hero of Winds after all, so with the flick of my magic baton, I can control how the wind blows! Soft breezes, strong hurricanes, you name it!” He exclaimed enthusiastically waving his hands around wildly in his explanation as the blonde girl chuckled, watching him with a kind smile on her face. Link then collapsed onto his back on the grass and looked up at the skies, watching the clouds roll by.

“Uhmm… sorry if I am intruding…” Link began to say, words spilling out his mouth in his brimming curiosity. “Who are you?” The woman laughed slightly as she played with Link’s little tuft of hair with a gentle finger. “My name is Fiora.” Link squinted, narrowing his eyes at her with a scrunched up look. That name felt so familiar to him, like he had heard it from somewhere before… but where? “It’s nice to meet you Fiora.” He smiled instead, unable to remember where he had heard her name before. Fiora smiled as she took Link’s hand and shook it gently. “Likewise Link.” 

They lay there for a moment, Link explaining to Fiora with full enthusiasm about his adventures and what he had seen over the course of his journey across the Great Sea back home, and Fiora listened intently to the little boy, interjecting at moments to replicate his pirate slang and gutsy mauervers as they both jumped and did a few stunts across the field. Link found her quite enjoyable to have as company in this dream, her tomboyish and extremely zealous nature made it easy for a young child brimming with energy like himself to connect with her. He collapsed into her lap with a chuckle, rocking in her gentle embrace for a moment after they had run around the field for a good while. 

“Fiora…” Link piped up once more as Fiora looked down at him, her bright shining green eyes were like jewels to Link. “Fiora your eyes remind me of my friend’s eyes. You know, they are green and sparkle almost like his.” Fiora tilted her head at his statement. “Who is it Link?” Link swallowed the hard lump in his throat as the tears began to burn at the back of his eyes once more. He looked back at Fiora, eyes glistening with tears before he hugged her, crying into her chest. “I don’t want to lose him Fiora! He-He did so much for me… He protected me… He supported me and he gave me hope. I-I don’t want to lose him.” Link wailed into Fiora’s clothes, soaking it with his endless stream of tears. 

Link sobbed and cried into Fiora until he felt her warm hand upon his back. She didn’t say anything but the comfort in her touch slowly helped to calm Link down, his wails slowly turning into slow choked sobs. As she helped him wipe his tears away, she picked Link up and placed him on her shoulders. “Come Link. I have to introduce you to the others.” Link wiped his tears away, he was confused why Fiora was not asking him about what he spilled out but he didn’t complain, he wanted to get it off his chest, to forget about it even for a moment to at least enjoy this peace in the dream. Fiora travelled down the small hilltop where they first met, passing into a small field of flowers where through hazy, tear covered eyes Link saw another figure. 

A young lady with fair skin, silver hair that was styled into braids on the back of her head and two large curls that touched her shoulder. The dress she wore was quite regal and almost royal to a sense, it reminded Link of Tetra’s dress when she became Princess Zelda. The most fascinating thing that sparked his childish excitement was the pair of soft, downy wings on her head. They were not like Pit’s or Dark Pit’s, their wings were on their back attached to their shoulder blades, this lady’s was on her head. “Melia.” Fiora smiled at the lady, Melia. “Greetings Fiora. If I may inquire, who is this little boy?” Her accent was posh and almost polite to a T, Link observed. “This is Link.” Fiora introduced him as Link gave Melia a wave, fidgeting a little as he mumbled. “C-Can I touch your wings?” He expected Melia to reject him but the young lady bent down to face Link with a soft smile. “Sure.” 

A bright light lit up in Link’s eyes as he gingerly reached out and touched her downy feathers, squealing in child-like delight at how soft they were. He didn’t want to hurt Melia by fidgeting with her wings too much, so he touched a few downy feathers to confirm the wings were indeed real before he pulled back. Melia stood back up, regal and tall as she looked at him with a kind smile. Link smiled back and gave her a cheeky grin, his eyes scanning the small flower field they were in for a moment before he chuckled. “Do you like flowers, Melia?” Melia seemed to smile at him, bending back down to touch the flowers with a soft smile. “Indeed I do, Link. Flowers are a wonderful beauty of nature. Elegant and pristine.” Link chuckled, her love of flowers and nature reminded him of Aryll. 

“Back where I come from, there were so many different tropical flowers that you normally don’t see.” Melia’s eyes seemed to sparkle with a type of curiosity that Link was familiar with. “Really? Do tell me more.” Link began his tall tales of the magnificent beauties of the Great Sea, from the flowers that grew in the Forest Haven and many other islands. He described the flowers as best as he could for Melia’s enjoyment, being sure to sprinkle in details about the other islands and the landscapes he visited over his journey. Melia watched in deep silence, allowing Link to talk without once interrupting him unless prompted. After a bit, Link fell into the bed of flowers and he heard Fiora chuckle. “Seems like you two get along quite well.” There was a very soft ‘Quite.” from Melia and Link was satisfied with that answer. 

“A girl’s party without me? You guys really should have told me about this sooner.” Came another voice. Link scrunched his face up, he never really had this many new people in his dream before, it was a first. But he was not going to complain. It was the first time he genuinely enjoyed the dreams where he could ‘hear’, since all of them before that was more like reliving his life on the Great Sea over and over again. So this was a nice change of pace, though these new people were odd to him. Tanned skin, long black hair and piercing brown eyes, Link found her outfit a little similar to Fiora’s in how revealing it was, but once again did not complain or say anything. 

“Apologies Sharla, we did not intend to leave you out.” Melia bowed her head slightly as Sharla chuckled. “Stop being so uptight Melia, it is alright.” Sharla looked over at Link who was lying on a bed of flowers with a kind motherly look and Link found her more akin to his grandma, kind and caring. “Link right?” Link nodded as he sat up, looking at her with mild confusement as she chuckled. “Don’t worry, we are all friends here.” 

Link leaned into Sharla’s embrace as Fiora came over to embrace him as well. It took awhile but Melia too joined in on the embrace, the warmth and comfort filled up in Link’s heart and soon he could not help but spill tears once more. He cried, wailed and let the floodgates open as he melted into their embrace. “I don’t want to lose him!” Link wailed once more, gripping Melia’s robe tightly. “I don’t want to be left alone without him. He did so much for me. I don’t want to leave him like that, his body forced to obey Zanza. I don’t want him to suffer.” Link sobbed over and over again as he buried his face into the embrace of the three hugging him. 

“Shulk is still alive.” Fiora muttered and Link let out a small gasp. “H-How did you know?” Sharla shushed him gently with a kind smile, her own eyes quivering with a bit of tears. “We all do, Link. We all care for him the same way you do.” Melia picked Link up from the embrace, hugging him as he rested his chin on her shoulder, face tickled slightly by her wings. “Shulk is strong. Believe in him. He will still be there waiting for you to come and wake him up.” Link trembled and buried his face into Fiora’s shoulder. “But how can I help him? I am small… weak… deaf… I cannot do anything…” 

Fiora placed a hand on his back, massaging and rubbing Link’s tensed muscles. “You have memories of being with him. The bond you share with him. That is more than enough.” He felt Sharla take his hand. “What matters is that you believe in him, if you show that you believe in him, then he will answer your call back.” Melia hugged Link tighter as she whispered into his ears. “Stay by his side, like we would too. Carry our message and drag him out from his darkness. I am sure he will come back to you. Besides...” 

Melia lowered Link back down to the ground as the three ladies around him smiled warmly. “We will help you bring him back. After all, we all care for him as much as you do.” Fiora chuckled slightly, playing with a lock of her hair, “In Memories.” Sharla placed her hands on her hip with a confident smile, “In Kindness.” Melia placed a flower crown upon Link’s head, pushing a lock of hair behind his pointed ears, “In Admiration.” 

“So don’t lose hope alright? Believe in changing that future.” Link blinked slowly as he wiped away the tears in his eyes but couldn’t stop the tears from cascading down his cheeks as he once again cried into the embrace of the three around him, surrounded by warm flowers.

* * *

The clicking of claws echoed around him, the darkness of the cave perpetuating the sound of clicking claws against the rocky uneven surface even more as the dragon prowled around him. ‘I told you before. There is nothing you could have done without me there.’ The dragon hissed and Corrin flinched back a little. ‘You should just give yourself to me. Submit yourself to your wild side and I will fix everything for you.’ The dragon drawled, its tail whipping dangerously on the ground as it paced in a circle around Corrin. “Never…” Corrin whispered out, clutching onto his torn bodysuit as he buried his face further into his knees. “I will never let myself become a beast.” 

‘Deep inside you know you are not strong enough. Your human side is weak… frail… unable to do anything but cower in fear of me. If you just submitted yourself to me, you would be free of that fear and pain. All you have to do…’ The dragon drew up to his ear. ‘Is give all of yourself to me.’ 

“He ain’t gonna let anyone control him!” A rough yet young voice called out and the dragon was backhanded away from Corrin. Corrin let out a choked gasp as he snapped his head up, looking at the tall tanned man before him, his body was muscular with wild auburn hair, eyes a soft brown colour. The dragon hissed at the young man but was soon thrown aside into a choke hold once more and flung aside. “Get away from him, Lizard breath. He doesn’t need your negativity ‘round these parts.” The dragon hissed and lashed out at the young man once more but kicked right in the chin by another strapping young man with long grey hair and a slight beard. Their piercing grey eyes watching as the dragon cowered away and hissed, backing away into the darkness of the cave as the auburn one offered a hand to Corrin. 

“Ya alright?” Corrin looked up, his blue eyes watering with wet tears as he nodded, taking the auburn’s hand and standing up, albeit shakily and had to be caught and supported by the muscular one. “Take it easy.” And Corrin nodded slowly. He looked between the two, blinking slowly. “Wh-who are you guys?” The auburn rubbed the back of his head. “Oh right, we never introduced ourselves. My name is Reyn.” The other young man nodded, with a bit more politeness in his form. “I am Dunban.” Corrin mumbled their names to himself, “Reyn and Dunban. Thank you for saving me.” 

“Man what are you doing letting that lizard control what you were thinking? That wasn’t very strong of you ya know?” Reyn chided him and Corrin bit his lip, only for Dunban to tell the former off. “Tone it down Reyn. I am sure he has gone through a lot. We do not want to overwhelm him, so take it slow with him.” Corrin breathed in deeply, find in himself a newfound appreciation for Dunban’s slow and empathetic nature as he slowly lifted his head up to face the two. “M-my name is-” “Corrin. Right?” Dunban finished his sentence for him and Corrin nodded gingerly. 

“Don’t worry, we know who you are.” Reyn chuckled as he ruffled Corrin’s hair slightly, messing up Corrin’s pure silver hair. “You were the one who asked Shulk to give you those chains, ain’t cha?” Corrin’s head was whirling with confusion, “How did you know?” Reyn chuckled and gave Corrin a wide smile. “Doesn’t mean that we are stuck in orbs means we can’t see what's going on.” Dunban nodded as he held out his left hand to move Corrin’s hair away from his eyes. “We know what has been plaguing you this entire time too, which is why we have decided to confront you now.” Corrin blinked. “Plaguing me?” 

“Ohhh Riki know…” Another upbeat and cheerful voice sounded out as Corrin whipped his head around, seeing a small ball of fur bounce up to him. A furball with blond and orange fur and wide brown eyes, it was hard for Corrin to find the right words to describe the creature before him. “What do you know, Riki?” Dunban chuckled as Riki bounced around Corrin. “Riki knows that Corrin is scared of his dragon side. Like Riki’s littlepon are scared of the dark. Dundun notice too right?” Dunban chuckled slightly as he nodded. “Indeed I did.” Reyn scratched the back of his head as Corrin leaned against the dark cavern walls. “So what you are saying is that Corrin is scared of himself?” Riki laughed out and Dunban sighed, “He is scared of himself, yes, but more specifically about his own strength.” “Even Riki know that!” 

Dunban smiled at Corrin, stern and warm. “The dragon half of yours represents your strength and confidence, but because your human half is conflicted, scared and almost on the verge of giving up, that's why you locked yourself in this dark cave, leaving your own body as nothing but an empty shell reliant on wild instincts.” Corrin was taken aback by how accurately Dunban described the whole thing, his body deflating. “Yeah… I don’t want to hurt anyone with my dragon strength… I just don’t want to go on another rampage at all...”

“True strength comes from within.” Dunban advised as Corrin looked up at the warrior, blue eyes brimming with tears and hope at the man’s words. “True strength?” Corrin choked out, wiping the tears from his eyes. Dunban nodded before continuing, “if you can acknowledge your strength for what it is, then you are able to understand your boundaries. If you fear your strength and continue to try and hold yourself back, you will only hurt others around you, because having no confidence in yourself will only hold you back, bind you by chains and you will unknowingly hurt another.” Corrin bit his lip and shook his head. “B-But my dragon strength, the blood is too strong, I cannot control it! I-I…” Dunban hushed him. “Do you truly believe that? If you continue to say and tell yourself that you cannot control it, then you will never be able to control it.” Dunban reached his hand out and held Corrin’s hand in his, warm and kind. “Your lack of self confidence holds you back, doesn’t it? You cannot choose what to do. Your indecisiveness is what drives you to lose yourself.” 

Corrin’s eyes widened at Dunban’s words and his lips quivered at the thought. “I saw him… I saw him suffer. Those golden lines… I saw the signs. When he was suffering from that odd electric shock that night. I just didn’t want to tell anyone. If I did, then they would fight! They would fight and I don’t want anyone to fight! I don’t want another war over something I started or saw!” Corrin sobbed out as Reyn threw his arms around his shoulder. “Do you trust them that little that they would just instantly fight like that.” Corrin shook his head. “No… But I-” Reyn smirked. “Then you have nothing to worry about man! Those guys trust you as much as they trust each other. If not none of you would have made it this far!” Corrin shook his head. “Even so, it was because I didn’t say anything-” Reyn ruffled Corrin’s hair once more.

“You got to spit it out man! Your friends are here to help you and support you. Don’t go bearing the burden all alone. That’s the same thing I told Shulk. If there is something you don’t like and you don’t know if you can handle on your own, then you just got to rely on others around you.” Reyn gave Corrin a hearty slap on the back. “Remember, everyone you know has got your back. So you ain’t forced to take that burden alone.” Corrin looked up at Reyn and Dunban. “Y-You guys know Shulk?” 

“Oooh Riki know Shulk too.” Riki smiled from below Corrin. “Shulk is our friend, we travel with him across the Bionis! Riki is the heropon and without Shuk, Riki would be dead-a-pon!” Corrin blinked away a bit of his tears. “Shulk is strong! Shulk is strong Hom-hom. So Riki know he is still there, waiting for you to go save him.” Riki bounced around, doing a little dance to cheer up Corrin. “Corrin be happy-happy! And meet Shulk with big smile! Then Shulk come back!” Corrin watched as Riki’s large ears (?) hugged Corrin’s legs with a big toothy grin. “So Corrin just got to hug Shulk with big hug and Shulk come back!” Dunban chuckled. “Riki is right. Unlike the rest, you have the ability to talk to his mind. So if you ever do see him again, talk to him, talk to him and bring him out from the darkness like we did to you.” 

It was then that Corrin noticed how bright his surroundings were, no longer in the cave but on a wide field as far as the eye could see. He rubbed his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in intensity as he felt Reyn throw his arm over his shoulder once more. “And if you ever feel like you can’t do it alone, you can rely on your friends and us! We will be here to help and support you along the way.” 

“No one is truly ever alone.” Dunban advised once more, his words wise and slow. “As long as we are together, we can work together to seize our destiny and work towards a future where everyone is happy.” Dunban held out a hand to Corrin and Corrin hesitated. “Anyone would be able to pull him out then, if all it needs is to talk to him…” Corrin muttered only for Riki to make a cute grunting sound. “Corrin wrong! Corrin have big big dragon in his head! Just like Shulk have big nasty god man in his head! So Corrin know what to feel and do for Shulk! Riki knows that Corrin can do it!” Corrin could not help but smile at Riki’s uplifting words as he reached down and hugged Riki, sobbing into the Nopon’s fur. “I never knew… I never knew people believed in me this strongly.” 

“You are not a bad person, Corrin.” Dunban placed a hand on Corrrin’s shoulder. “You just have been thinking a little bit too much about yourself and running away a little too much. If you face your challenge with confidence, then perhaps you would see the world around you better.” Corrin felt the familiar slap on his back as Reyn smiled. “Dunban is right. As long as you know what to believe in yourself and your friends, you can overcome anything! Just remember, that above all else, we here still got your back no matter what. And if you think Shulk needs a good slap on the back to wake up. You know who to look for.” 

Corrin felt a smile creep up on his face as his hands were taken and held in a handshake with Reyn, Dunban and Riki. A light laughter echoing. “Yeah… I know to look for you guys. Thank you, Reyn, Dunban and Riki.” 

“You know it!”  
“It's my pleasure.”  
“Heropon always here for you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I wrote the characters right, I fear that I might have messed up somewhere so please do forgive me on that. I know people still hate Corrin but give him a chance in this story, I assure you that he will make up for it.


	22. Lost in the Eternal Prison of Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proceed with caution. There is nothing nice about this chapter. Unfortunately.

### Chapter 22: Lost in The Eternal Prison of Space

Heavy. His entire body felt so heavy, and Shulk could not find the strength in him to even raise his head up. The first thing Shulk noticed when he finally regained a semblance of consciousness was his surroundings. He was once again floating in space, lying upon invisible solid resistance like he had been for the past few dreams. Then he tried to breathe. Each breath he took felt laboured and sore, like it was burning his lungs with molten lava. There was something around his neck, locking it in a tight grip that constricted and choked him with every breath he took and soon Shulk resorted to taking short shallow breaths instead. Every part of his body burned and hurt and he could barely move them off the ground, feeling cold metal rubbing hard against his pale skin, leaving abrasions where they contacted his body. His vision looked hazy, golden spots and stars dancing across his eyes as he stared blankly at the endless horizon of space before him. 

His mind felt tired. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t hear anything. The silence around him was deafening and Shulk felt crushingly isolated, with nothing but the stars and endless void before him for company. Not that they were much company to begin with, since they were starting to hurt his eyes the more he stared at it. Shulk squeezed his eyes shut, relieving them from the strain of staring at the far-off stars for a moment as he took in a sharp breath, only to choke and cough out when his throat was restricted by something wrapped tight around his neck. 

Shulk slowly peeled his eyes open as he attempted to move his arm once more, searching for the strength to figure out what was choking him around his neck. The sound of chains shook his mind back to reality violently as Shulk’s eyes widened. Gritting his teeth, he willed his hand to move, summoning all the remaining strength in his numbed body to pull his hand in front of his face. When his hand flung into his line of sight, Shulk let out a muffled cry. The Monado lines on his skin were no longer blue like he knew them, but were void of colour, a dull dead grey colour, as if no ether ran through them, no energy, no life. But that was not his main concern. His wrists were wrapped in heavy handcuffs attached to large chains of blue energy, presumably made of ether. When Shulk tried to tug at it, he couldn’t seem to break the ether chains, in fact it gave him a slight shock when he tried and Shulk bit his lip as he tried to discharge the shock from his hand. 

Shulk choked back a hiss of pain as he let his hands fall to the ground, grasping at nothing as he tried to reach out for something he could grab onto but nothing was available to him. He lay there, mind spinning in circles at what he just saw, the handcuffs and the chains. After he came to terms with reality, Shulk silently reached his fingers to his neck. His fingers brushed against cold, hard metal that sent shivers down his aching body. The thick and heavy metal collar sat on his neck, its weight preventing Shulk from moving his head or even lifting it up on his own lacking strength. It was constricted around his neck so tightly that even taking the smallest breath choked Shulk as he gasped for air to fill his lungs. Shulk squeezed his eyes shut and tried to regulate his breathing, controlling it at a rate that won’t hurt, neither will it choke him. It took awhile but he soon got it under control, albeit it still hurt with every breath. 

He lay there, unable to come to terms with reality as he tried to recall what happened. Why was he here? When did he get here? How did he get here? He knew this was in his head, most likely, he recognized this place as… as… What did Alvis call this place again? The name was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn’t recall it no matter how much he tried. It was weighing more on his mind that he could not remember the name of the space around him, more than the weight of the collar on his neck. Then when he tried to remember how he got here, he couldn’t help but choke on his breaths and coughed violently. Dharkon calling out to an oddly familiar name, the burning pain in his body, the worried faces of his friends and then the desolate landscape before him. The words that he never said, never wanted to say, the voice in his head that snatched everything from him.

Shulk reached his hand out, weakly with chains rattling by his ears for a mere moment before it fell defeated to the ground. “What was I doing…? What was I thinking…?” He muttered to himself aloud, voice weak and dry. “I’ve got it wrong. I was never alive… It was Zanza! All along!” Shulk breathed out, his fingers clenching into a weak fist in front of his bleary vision and he breathed in sharply, only to gasp and cough once more from the ring that choked him. He lay there for a moment, silent as he tried to fill his lungs with molten fire once more, it pained him but if he didn’t he would surely die. “Everything I did was…”

“All according to my visions.” That tight, grating voice filled liminal space around him and Shulk’s body instinctively tensed up at the voice that reverberated around him. Shulk squeezed his eyes shut just as a burst of golden light exploded right in front of him. He shook his head slowly and attempted to turn away only to hear his voice cough out a yelp before he could process what was happening. Zanza wrenched Shulk up, holding him by the collar of the jacket he still wore in this liminal space. Shulk gasped in pain and for air as he scratched at the hold, trying to release it, it wasn’t helping he was being choked by the heavy metal collar as well. Shulk’s eyes blinked open, glimmering with tears in them from the pain as he hissed and scowled at Zanza. 

“When a God appears before you, you should be treating them with respect.” Zanza barked out as he let Shulk go. Shulk fell onto the solid resistance below him with a loud thud, chains rattling, head lolling and his coughs and gasps echoing around him. Shulk let out heavy pants between coughs as he fought with the fatigue in his arms to stand up, to resist. A hot pain seared at his shoulder as Shulk froze in place, Zanza holding Replica at the base of his neck where the collar did not cover. “Knees, Shulk. You are in my divine presence.” Shulk gnawed on the insides of his cheek as he froze, trying to stand up again but an invisible resistance was pushing him down. Shulk grunted out when the lines on his body began to spark, turning a bright red colour as molten fire shot through the lines, burning and searing him. Shulk let out a choked cry of pain as he fell onto his knees at which point the pain mostly dissipated. 

Zanza hovered in front of Shulk, a satisfied grin on his face as Shulk wrenched his gaze away from the God. “How pathetic.” Zanza mocked, his voice dripping with arrogance. “You bested so many formidable foes: Rathalos, Galeem, Dracula and Marx. And yet here you are weak and almost as flimsy as paper in front of me. Perhaps it's because you no longer have me? The Monado that is providing you with the power to defeat the enemy?” Shulk grit his teeth hard as though they might break as he snapped his head back up, gasping and panting, “No. I never needed you! I had my friends-” 

“Those weak beings I just blasted away?” Zanza scoffed. “You should stop lying to yourself, Shulk. All those times you protected your friends with your Arts was because of me. Because I, the Monado, bestowed that power upon you. Nothing you did was meaningful. It was all because of me.” Zanza’s voice dripped with a certain pride and satisfaction, grating on Shulk’s skin. Shulk attempted to move from where he was kneeling on the ground below him but white hot pain shot through his entire body and Shulk let out a strangled gasp of pain. Yet he grit his teeth and tried to stand once more, the chains that held him back rattling, the collar on his neck as heavy as ever as he finally managed to push himself to stand. His body shivered violently and he could feel his fingers twitching uncontrollably as he lifted his head to stare Zanza in the eye, as steely as he could muster despite his dry pants. “They aren’t weak!” Shulk retaliated, voice dry and weak. “They supported me… They helped me… They were there to be by my side… They trusted me-”

“But you did not trust them enough to tell them about what was going on with your body.” Zanza smirked as he reached forward with a brisk step and caught Shulk’s jaws with a strong, bruising grip. “I was worried, Shulk, that you were going to tell them about your body. After all, your body is fused with me, the Monado, so if I were to do anything like perhaps modify your body to fit my needs for an opportunity to reawaken, then your body would show the signs.” Zanza laughed out, his laughs bitter. “And yet I was lucky wasn’t I? You didn’t tell them a thing. Perhaps if you told them, you might have stopped me.” Zanza moved his grip to Shulk’s neck and picked Shulk up by the neck once more. “But that was within the realms of my prediction, as depicted by the Passage of Fate.” 

Zanza forcefully threw Shulk back and Shulk felt his body grind against the solid resistance of the space he floated in, trapped within the depths of presumably his own mind. Even if it was in his head, he could feel the pain, the agony and the pure anger he had for Zanza. Shulk coughed out, his throat dry and sore now, and looked up at Zanza, turquoise eyes locking with pale blue ones for a bit before Zanza let out a disappointing huff. “You still try to fight back? You should know that it’s futile.” Zanza informed Shulk as he crossed his leg over the other as he floated in front of Shulk, golden wings spread out wide behind him. “I control your body now, and I will do what I desire with it. Even if it means using your own hands to kill your dear friends.” Zanza drawled as Shulk’s eyes went wide. 

“No… You wouldn’t. I won’t let you!” Shulk gasped out as he pushed himself off the ground and ran at Zanza trying to tackle the god only for Zanza to smirk. “Foolish vessel.” The lines on Shulk’s body sparked once more, like a wildfire set alight on his skin as Shulk let out a strangled cry of pain, faltering in his step and crashing into the ground right in front of Zanza. Still the pain didn’t let up, it continued to burn, stab and hold Shulk in a vice-like grip of pure agony that raced through his entire body. His fingers went numb with pain and his chest was hot and burning. Shulk tried to reach his shaking fingers to grasp at his chest but accidentally managed to brush his skin against the ether chains, sending yet another wave of pain and electricity through his body. Shulk’s screams that echoed across space didn’t seem to bother Zanza as he watched Shulk in dull amusement. 

Shulk’s eyes began to water as the pain finally began to die down, tears slowly following the dull grey Monado lines on Shulk’s face as it dripped down off his cheek. Shulk lay on the ground in front of Zanza, whimpering, panting heavily as he curled up, weak and without much strength left in front of Zanza who merely laughed. “It was foolish of you to try and attack a God. A God that has all the power in the world. I puppeteered you so well to this point, you should be glad that I even allow you to have the privilege of staying ‘alive’ right now. I could easily dismiss your consciousness and use your body for the next millenia, but…” Zanza smirked as he drew himself away from Shulk. “I rather reward you for being such a good puppet in following my visions and my orders, so you get to live on and watch.” 

Shulk decided that silence here was the best answer, if he tried to voice out his thoughts of rejecting Zanza’s offer right now, he might really be gone, and any chance that he might be able to wrench control back from Zanza will be all but zero. Still, frustration burned in his chest at how much Zanza treated him like an object, distant and disposable. Shulk clenched his fists and grit his teeth as he fought to steady his breaths against the choking ring around his neck. Zanza decided then to say something horrifying. “Though I would not wish for you to violently move about any longer so perhaps a few more restrictions will need to be put into place.” 

Zanza snapped his fingers together and instantly Shulk felt as if he was bolted to the ground. Heavy weights pressed on his ankles and he could hear the distinct jingle of chains behind him, when he tried to move his body around, he twisted his legs upon something and fell down face first. Shulk groaned and struggled back onto his knees, eyes quivering as he looked behind him, His ankles were now locked in the same cuffs as his wrists, bolted down and chained together by similar blue ether chains, sparking with high voltages of ether energy. Shulk’s felt his lips quiver and his body go numb and weak with horror, as he twisted his body and placed his hands on one of the cuffs, trying to pry it off his ankle but it sat so snugly around his ankle his fingers could not even slip between the rings. 

Shulk felt a shiver down his spine when he sensed Zanza staring at him and he painted a scowl on his face, as strongly as he could to whip his head around to shout at Zanza, not caring about how sore his throat or voice was. “Zanza!” Shulk roared out and Zanza merely laughed at Shulk’s futile attempts to grab at him. “I am the soul of the Bionis, Shulk. The God that oversees everything you have done, how you lived, how you interacted and all. You should be thanking me, showing some gratitude that I allowed you to live. I showed you mercy.” Mercy. Shulk could laugh, bitter and raw at Zanza’s statement but he didn’t have the strength to do that, instead focusing the remaining energy in his body to stare down Zanza and try to grab at him, punch him. 

Zanza merely chuckled and slipped through Shulk’s fingers like golden mist, his laughs echoing in liminal space. “Enjoy the show, Shulk.” 

Shulk collapsed back on the ground, his fingers grasping at nothing as they clenched into fists. If those lines on his body were still the usual blue colour, perhaps they would be sparking, flashing and glitching to show the frustration that bubbled and boiled in Shulk’s chest. But instead, they were a dead dull grey colour, with no life or light in them. Shulk curled up on himself, hugging his knees to his chest while making sure the ether chains did not touch his skin. He felt the burn of tears build up behind his eyes as they slowly began to drip down his cheeks, shining on the grey Monado lines that scarred his face. Soon his cries and whimpers began to echo across the dull void of space, with no one to hear him but the stars and the planets that surrounded him.

* * *

In the long, agonizing hours to come, Shulk found himself unable to move from his spot. His hunched back began to ache and his body was stiff with the soreness of not moving around much. His head was desperate for something, anything to work on. He had never been left this empty without anything to do for so long. He desperately wished there could be something, anything of the sort. He had already taken the hours before to observe the stars and planets around him, memorize their shape, size, colours and even how brightly they shone, but that was not enough to quell the bubbling frustration in his heart, left behind even after Zanza had disappeared from liminal space. 

Once again, Shulk found himself scratching at his skin, trying to tear out the lines that scarred his body, the lines of Zanza. He never thought about it until Zanza so proudly revealed to him back then, but those lines of the Monado… No… Those were the lines of Zanza. Nails digging deep into his skin, drawing blood as he tried over and over again to rip the lines out of his skin. Yet they stayed permanently etched into his skin, mocking him for his worthless attempts at escape. His skin was red and raw from all his efforts and it hurt on contact with the stale air around him. 

Shulk didn’t have the energy to feel miserable, and his eyes were dry of tears. They were swollen and red, too pained to even cry more. Shulk buried his face in his knees once more, closing his eyes as he breathed in slowly and exhaled deeply. Yet again, there was nothing he could do. He had tried everything, virtually and literally. He tried to snap the chains with his pitiful strength, tried to pry the cuffs off his legs or even his wrists, attempted to even loosen the collar around his neck, but nothing worked. Nothing wanted to work for him. Not even his own body. He should have known that everything that happened to his body was a build up to Zanza’s reawakening. He should have guessed when Alvis talked to him about the Bionis and Mechonis, he should have seen the signs when he lost his sense of taste. He should have known when he felt more dead as days went by, it was all because of Zanza. Shulk unconsciously scratched at the lines again. 

Shulk was just mildly appreciative that his body no longer lit up like it did. He wanted to lie to himself a bit longer, so if his lines didn’t light up and betray him, perhaps he could continue to lie to himself a bit longer. He wanted to deceive his own heart, his own feelings. In truth, he was lying to himself that he would be fine. That his friends would come for him, to maybe save him. But deep down inside he knew that this lie would not persist, no matter how hard he tried to think it to be true. His grip around his clothes tightened. 

It was all a lie. He knew that and Shulk choked back another sob. Even though the endless burning of tears built up behind his eyes, his eyes were too dry to cry. There was no way that his friends might save him, he betrayed their trust. He lied to them, he abused their trust. He didn’t deserve them, and he believed strongly that this betrayal will mean that they will never come for him. He lied to Pit about being fine at Dracula’s Castle, didn’t tell Dark Pit about his aching body, refused to confide in Corrin’s quiet self and even let Toon down when the young Hylian was the first one he trusted. Yet he lied to himself over and over again, that they might one day come for him. One day? He was really grasping at straws here, and he knew that Reyn might tell him he was being too pessimistic. 

His heart was struck with a pang of pain. 

His mind wandered to his friends and comrades from his adventure on the Bionis. Their spirit orbs that he had left in his satchel. He wondered if Zanza crushed them and tortured their spirits with his body. The boiling dread in his stomach threatened to spill over and Shulk buried his face into his palms, the grey lines on his palms and fingers mocking him ever more. He tried to cheer himself up, etch their words and smiles into his head. 

Reyn would be sitting by his side, complaining about Colonel Vangarre again perhaps, or maybe Reyn would be trying to cheer him up, tell him that everything was ok and that everyone still had his back. Shulk laughed weakly, he knew that Reyn would do that. He painted Reyn’s wide confident smile in his mind, his kind words of affirmation and his unwavering trust and bond with Shulk. Reyn always knew him better than many others, perhaps he would have noticed Shulk’s change in demeanour, maybe pointed out the changes in his body without much effort. Reyn would definitely make Shulk spit it out, and then would be very proactive in finding a way to cure his body of its aches and pains, to stop the changes Zanza was doing to his body. 

Shulk’s mind wandered over to Sharla, who would probably be chiding him for his injuries, maybe scolding him for scratching at his skin until it bled. The lines on his skin seared a little, tingling at the thought. Maybe Sharla would be careful with how she treated his lines, he knew she would be concerned for his health and well-being. If she was with him during this adventure, would things be better? After all, she treated his injuries and would probably know how to treat his problematic body. 

Dunban would probably be disappointed with him. Shulk could picture the older adult shaking his head at his lines and his state, and then perhaps kindly but sternly advise Shulk on his actions. Shulk chuckled weakly, he could practically hear Dunban’s words in his head. Dunban would be telling Shulk not to keep it to himself, coax Shulk to talk to him if he couldn’t talk to anyone else. He could hear Dunban’s wise words about trusting his friends and telling them about his body, maybe help Shulk while he was at it, give him space and be patient with Shulk. Shulk could practically hear Dunban calling him a fool for keeping it all to himself, but yet be so kind and patient towards him, waiting for Shulk to tell him the truth. 

Melia would definitely be intrigued by the lines on his skin, but would also try to keep her cool about it. Melia would sit next to him, quietly and patiently waiting for Shulk to tell her about his situation, maybe coax him with some gentle words, polite and patient. Melia was always so tolerable of the group’s actions, she never once complained or even spoke up about it much. Shulk knew that she would just silently wait for him to tell her himself, but she would still look at him with much concern and worry. Even when he told her, she would definitely keep her usual cool and try her hardest to find a cure for him, even at her own expense. He always appreciated that side of her, her responsibility, diligence and how focused she was on her duties or anything she set on herself. He really envied her for that.

Riki self-proclaimed himself as Shulk’s new dad, especially ever since Riki found out that Shulk lost his parents at a young age. Riki would definitely try to cheer Shulk up, bouncing around him, maybe singing him a few songs to lift his mood, smother Shulk in his soft orange fur, try to make Shulk feel better, make Shulk feel comfortable. To not feel alone. To let Shulk know he was still loved, and everyone would do anything for him. Be by his side all the way no matter what, support him just like a real father would do. Like a real Daddy-pon, he could hear Riki say and Shulk laughed. 

And then there was Fiora. He didn’t understand why her spirit was here in this world when he remembered vividly how she died back in Colony 9. His grip tightened, nails digging into his skin as he remembered that awful day, then he released as the tears began to flow once again. He felt gratitude and relief that perhaps she was given another chance in this world that held a collection of multiverses he was summoned to. She would definitely not let Shulk go, and much like Reyn would have noticed the changes in his body, vehemently telling him to tell her the truth. She would work with Reyn to try and cure him behind his back. It really did sound like her to be enthusiastic and concerned about his well-being. She would be by his side, hand-in-hand, trying to tell him everything would be ok and that everyone would be by his side. Waiting to see him…

Waiting to see him… Waiting… See him...

His stomach fell. Shulk bit his lip and buried his face into his arms. He would never see them ever again… He was locked up, chained up tight in his own mind. Zanza had his body now, and he had tried… tried over and over again to try and wrench back control somehow from the position he was in, but nothing happened, nothing changed. Hell, Zanza didn’t even reappear since the first time he appeared before him in this space. Shulk queasily knew that Zanza could probably see and hear everything that Shulk was doing in this liminal space. Perhaps the cruel God was laughing at his pitiful efforts that resulted in nothing. 

“I can’t do anything.” Shulk choked out, his voice dry and raw. “I am sorry… so sorry… How could I be so stupid...” It wasn’t like him to give up like this, but with everything that piled up on him, he could not help but feel defeated and deflated in this eternal prison of space. He wished desperately against his feelings that he would one day get to see his friends again, and apologize to them, pour his heartfelt apologies to them for deceiving them all this time. But he also doubted that time would ever come. The best he could do was hope, hope and wish that maybe they would come for him, to save him even after all he had done.

* * *

“Wonderful. It seems he has learnt to sit still for now.” Zanza chuckled as he lifted his fingers, admiring the gold colour that stained his vessel’s fingers. Zanza let a light smile touch his lips as he drew his fingers back to play with the blonde locks of his hair, thoughts whimsical as he looked out at the endless dark void. His fingers then went stiff a little and Zanza made a clicking noise with his tongue. “Pity. This mortal body is still not up to my standards. It is still weak and susceptible to much injury.” He stretched fingers out and his arms out, pulling at the clothes that he still wore, Shulk’s clothes. 

“My vessel has quite an intriguing choice of clothing, it doesn’t suit my divine splendour.” Zanza mused to himself, tugging at the red jacket before he froze and sighed. There was a phantom gaze upon his back and Zanza let the gossamer golden wings on his back flutter a bit. “If you were going to watch me, the least you could do is let me know. It is very rude of you Dharkon.” Zanza’s cold and pale blue eyes gazed behind his shoulder as the dark and deep rumble of Dharkon echoed. 

“Apologies Zanza. I was just coming to inform you that I have located the base of operations of the other pathetic fighters and was coming to inform you.” Dharkon rumbled out as Zanza pushed a lock of hair behind his ear, fingers painted with gold and cheeks bright with similar golden lines. “You are hiding in the dark Dharkon. I am unable to see you or acknowledge you.” Dharkon fell silent and then his voice echoed out from the darkness. “Your light is too bright, Zanza. Even when you are held back by a mortal vessel, the light of your Monado is still too strong for me. I suggest you dim yourself and your radiance before I can appear next to you.” Zanza clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and pondered on Dharkon’s words for a moment before he sighed. The golden light around him began to dull into a soft pale glow, coating him in a very slight luminescent glow as Dharkon slithered out of the darkness. 

“What have you figured out?” Zanza quirked a brow at Dharkon’s eerie eye, the God of the Bionis picking at Shulk’s choice of clothing once more. Dharkon let out a low cackle, “They are hiding at the area where the portal to the Sacred Grove once was. We can directly attack them there and they will be done for, this world will be ours to rule.” Zanza nodded and waved Dharkon off. “I see. I will join you shortly, leave me to finish the final modifications to this vessel.” Dharkon seemed to oblige and his presence vanished. 

Zanza held back a chuckle. “He said ‘Ours’. How stupid.” The golden light around him flared up, bright yellow gold, burning with the intensity of multiple suns and stars. Golden wings congealing behind him, oddly contrasted by Shulk’s clothes that were still worn by Zanza. Yet Zanza didn’t feel like it was worth changing Shulk’s clothes, he wanted to see the despair of Shulk’s ‘friends’ when he attacked them looking exactly like his foolish vessel. This mortal body was still weak… susceptible to serious injuries but Zanza was confident, confident that no one would want to harm this body. Why? 

He held a glowing golden hand to his face and rubbed its smooth skin. Because this body, his vessel, had Shulk’s face. The face of a dear friend, a comrade, their fellow fighter. “Everyone in this world are fools. All of them. ‘Ours’ he said. There is no space in this world for the both of us. There can only be ONE God.” A wry smirk littered Zanza’s face, unnatural and unfitting on Shulk’s face whom Zanza had stolen. 

“And that God will be me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the bright side, at least Shulk is alive.


	23. Lose Yourself in My Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually took a week to write, not because I was busy but more because I did not know how to write it. Even after taking so long to write it, I was not very confident in the quality of my writing this chapter. I will make up for it in the next one, but I think this is probably my least favourite chapter to write for reasons I cannot fathom. I have to thank Ryss for supporting me in the slight writer’s block and helping me beta read this damn shithole of a chapter as well as providing me more Monado!Shulk content in my timeline UwU.

### Chapter 23: Lose Yourself in My Eyes

Sparks flew across the floor, dancing across the hard concrete floor and bouncing off the cracks raked across the ground. A purple Lucario puppet flew across the battlefield, slamming straight into a dilapidated building, dust flying in large clouds and chunks of rocks was thrown out from the impact. Tiny footsteps running across the debris strewn battlefield, wielding a giant wooden bat in his tiny hands as it was swung in a large arc, slamming straight across the Lucario’s snout and sending the puppet tumbling across the broken battlefield, grinding into the ground before it burst into a bright explosion of black light particles. Lucas let the bat fall to the ground, taking in shallow and shaky breaths before gingerly turning his head to look behind him. 

Lucas’ wide eyes bore straight into the bright crimson eyes of two inkling puppets and the tiny PSI child’s body seized in fear. His voice stuck in his throat and sweat fell down his forehead as his eyes began to tear up and he shut them tight, holding the bat to his face to protect himself. A bright flash of light and sparkling PSI energy collided into the two inkling puppets, sending them off course from Lucas and right into a heap of rocks on the side. Lucas froze and slowly wrenched his eyes open to face Ness who grabbed Lucas wrist and began to run. Lucas let out a startled yelp as he was dragged across the battlefield, barely avoiding the gyro spinner that was shot from a ROB puppet behind them. Ness continued to lead Lucas through the broken roads, ducking under fallen pillars and arches, turning corners until they came face to face with a giant K.Rool puppet. 

The giant K.Rool puppet pulled out it’s blunderbuss and shot a huge cannonball right at the two PSI children, shiny and almost the size of Lucas and Ness combined. Ness grinded his feet to a halt and tried to turn tail, but froze when he saw three more puppets on their tail. Lucas ran in front of Ness, face stained with tears and eyes red and swollen from crying before he swung the bat right before him, reflecting the giant cannonball at the K.Rool at twice the speed. The giant cannonball flew right back at the K.Rool at twice the speed it initially was shot at, hitting the K.Rool straight in the jaw and sending the giant puppet into a crashing heap. Lucas grabbed tight onto Ness and ran past the recovering K.Rool puppet, trying to wipe his tears as he did. The slight relief that surrounded the two PSI kids only lasted for a mere moment before they ran straight into a giant metal inkling puppet. 

Lucas stumbled back, making pained whines as he clutched at his bruised forehead, weeping as tears fell down his face. A warm energy surrounded Lucas as he was lifted off the ground, hovering in the hold of Ness’ PSI energy as he was carried bridal style between the legs of the inkling puppet. The same thought raced through both the PSI kids minds as they ran, keeping their voices to themselves as they continued to run across the battlefield: Just keep running!

Ness’ eyes fell upon a giant pile of fallen buildings and debris and he swerved off his initial path, tripping and landing face first into the dust right behind the pile of debris hidden from sight. Lucas fell from Ness’ PSI hold, rolling across the dust and letting out sharp, short coughs as the two PSI kids lay there in the ground trying to recover from the prior onslaught. Deep breaths slowly transformed into controlled breathing and the two PSI kids leaned against the debris they hid behind, hand in hand to give each other comfort in their presence. “Thank you.” Lucas sobbed out as he dropped the baseball bat to wipe the tears from his eyes, whimpering and coughing. “I am sorry… I froze up…” Ness shook his head, squeezing Lucas’ hand in his with a weak smile. “It’s okay. We made it out alive. You don’t have to apologize for anything.” Lucas choked on another sob, pondering on Ness’ words for a moment before nodding slightly. 

The two PSI kids regained their composure and Lucas’ sobs slowly turned into quiet coughs, gathering themselves, the two PSI kids attempted to stand up and return back to base camp when a sudden shout of distress, a howl of distress echoed from behind them. Following that, they heard rough voices, shaky and laced with thick fear. “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” The two PSI kids looked at each other and a sudden bad feeling gripped their hearts. Shaking, the two pulled themselves over the debris to look over at the debris strewn battlefield. 

Their eyes fell upon a small group, Wolf, Ike and Torracat that were standing, their weapons shaking as they pointed at something bright. Lucas and Ness flinched when they tried to look at who they were fighting, the light far too bright for their eyes and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the light. When they did, Lucas stifled back a strangled gasp. Flushed in golden lines across his skin, eyes of a pale, cold blue staring straight into their souls. With golden wings made of glitter and light behind his back and an odd halo that floated above his head, was Shulk. A very eerie golden colour surrounded him like an aura as he hovered midair above the group, fingers tapping his cheek in deep thought, an uncanny and very unnatural smirk decorating his lips.

“So are you the small resistance group that have been defeating puppets in this area?” Shulk’s voice was cold and distant, it was still familiar to Lucas but the tone… something felt strange. Ike dropped his sword to the ground with a clatter, hands shaking violently as he managed to cough out, “Shulk, what’s wrong? What happened to you?” Shulk rolled his eyes, and Lucas flinched back a bit at his sharp words. “Shut up, worthless mortal. Answer my question. Are you part of the small resistance group?” Ness watched as the fire cat raised his hackles up, hissing at the golden glowing man. “Who-” Ness began and Lucas hushed him with quivering eyes. 

“Shulk! What is wrong? Open your eyes, it’s us! Don’t you recognize us?” Wolf growled out, as Shulk immediately pointed his golden monado at the group. “It seems like you are all fools. If you do not answer my query then I will just destroy you.” A bright light seared Lucas and Ness eyes as the two PSI kids threw up their arms in front of their eyes, masking a bit of the golden light that burst forth from Shulk. The light engulfed the battlefield, hot and stuffy as the two PSI kids ducked behind the debris cover relieved at the lessened pressure, gripping each other’s hand, shaking in fear. The cries, screams and howls of pain echoed from behind them as they squeezed their eyes shut. Soon the light died down and the two dared to look once more. They saw the three fighters lying on the ground, cuts, bruises and burns seared onto them, bleeding and fresh.

Lucas and Ness wanted to rush out and help them but the sudden approaching footsteps made them freeze as their eyes gazed from side to side, trying to find out who was approaching. They belatedly noticed that Shulk was no longer within their sights on the battlefield. Bursting out from the corner was Robin and Meta Knight, their concerned body language fretting over the three fallen warriors as Robin began to apply what looked like medicine, according to Lucas, to their wounds. They couldn’t hear the words that were exchanged between Robin and Ike, but the cold, creeping feeling ran up their backs as they shivered. 

Another burst of bright golden light as Shulk re-appeared once more, hovering with golden wings surrounded by a dazzling golden glow. “Pitiful… I expected more of a fight from them. They were such good warriors and fighters back when they battled Marx. Such a shame, they barely took a hit.” Once again Shulk’s voice was cold and grating, yet so eerily familiar to Lucas. “Are you part of the resistance as well?” The voice sent shivers down both Ness and Lucas’ bodies, even if Ness could not remember who this person was, the tone was more than enough to set off multiple red flags. “Such fools you are.” Shulk chuckled out again, deep and full of himself. 

“Wh-Who are you?” Robin gasped out, holding his bronze sword tight in his grip but didn’t draw it. “You are Shulk aren’t you? Why are you attacking us? What’s happened to you?” Robin screamed out as Shulk held out a hand in front of him, a golden ball of light energy condensing in his palms that were painted with the same golden lines. “There is no need for me to waste my time with your fruitless questions. Even if you knew the answers to those queries, it won’t change a thing. You will all cease to exist one way or another.” Meta Knight drew Galaxia and launched himself at Shulk, brandishing the golden sword as Shulk brought up the golden glowing replica monado, parrying Meta Knight’s charge with ease. “Shulk!” Meta Knight grunted out. “Open your eyes! It’s us!”

“Foolish mortals.” Shulk sighed as Ness and Lucas watched Shulk throw Meta Knight back into Robin with a swift kick. The Galaxy Knight tumbled straight into Robin, sending the two barreling across the desolate battlefield and Shulk chuckled as he hovered above them. “The one you knew as ‘Shulk’ is not here. Not anymore. You have overstayed your reunion.” 

“Goodbye.” And the two PSI kids hid behind the debris once more.

* * *

“Ah fuck.” The sharp and uncensored tongue of Dark Pit’s rang out as Pit looked over at his darker twin with a squint. “What’s wrong Pittoo?” Dark Pit grumbled out something as he checked over his staff once more. “I only have one last fucking shot in my staff. I don’t know how in Palutena’s name I only have one shot left in my staff but I don’t have any materials left to load it with more shots.” Dark Pit huffed out as he leaned his staff against the cavern walls, “So I am going to have to make that shot count if I ever do have to use my staff.” Dark Pit muttered out as he stood up and stretched himself. 

The dark angel’s red eye glanced over to the sleeping figures of Toon and Corrin, the former still hugging onto Shulk’s satchel tightly as he slept, and Dark Pit let out a grunt. “Should we wake them up?” He narrowed his gaze at Pit who was searching through his satchel. The light angel scrunched up his face in thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Let them rest. I am sure they need it. Maybe with more rest, Corrin will regain himself again.” Dark Pit let out a huff and didn’t say anything more as he returned to his own satchel and dug around in his supplies. 

Dark Pit’s fingers brushed over a smooth object and he furrowed his brow, grasping at the item and pulling it out. A smooth bottle filled with a shiny pink liquid, it smelled sweet and refreshing as Dark Pit drew it out, his mind instantly registering what it was. A Drink of the Gods. “Woah!” Pit exclaimed out as he crawled over to Dark Pit with a goofy wide grin on his face. “That's a Drink of the Gods, Pittoo!” Dark Pit scoffed out, “Of course it is Pit-stain. I can see that it is one. You didn’t need to point out the obvious.” Dark Pit grumbled as he stared in utter disbelief at this discovery. Since when did he have this in his satchel? 

“Maybe we should give it to Corrin!” Pit suggested, gesturing wildly at the sleeping dragon. “Maybe it will heal Corrin enough that he regains his rational mind again!” Dark Pit cut Pit off with a scowl and sharp words. “No you fucking idiot. The Drink of the Gods does not work that way, are you fucking dumb or what?” Pit puffed out his cheeks in retaliation. “I mean it was a suggestion! You never know till you try-” Dark Pit shoved the Drink of the Gods back into his satchel and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sharp sigh. “We are not using that precious drink on motherfucking lizard brain. Besides I doubt it will work. We will save that for when we absolutely need it.” 

Pit hung his head in defeat and nodded slowly. “Alright…” Dark Pit smirked at his ‘victory’ and turned back to his satchel, digging through it but was unable to find anything else that would prove useful to him other than a few other weapons. Pit came to the same conclusion as Dark Pit and the lighter angel stretched his arms out and fell onto his back, lying on the uneven rocky floor while staring at the ceiling of the cave. Pit turned his head towards Toon and squinted before gasping in shock. Dark Pit raised an eye at Pit and snarled out. “What’s wrong, Pit-stain?” 

Pit gingerly lifted a finger pointing at Toon, the bag that Toon was holding was glowing in six bright lights and the two angels stared on in shock at the light for a moment before Dark Pit mustered up the strength to move over and snatched the bag from out of Toon’s sleeping grip. He dug into Shulk’s bag and slowly one by one pulled out the glowing spirit orbs. The two angels stared at the orbs with a dumbfounded look before the orbs grew brighter and brighter until the light engulfed the angels before Dark Pit could even say the word ‘fuck’.

* * *

Two shivering bodies hid behind the rubble, holding onto each other with their small hands as they squeezed their eyes shut. The warmth of the golden explosion behind them engulfed them as they braced themselves behind the debris that shielded them. Even though they were far away from the fight, there was no doubt in their minds that the explosion was terribly powerful and if they were even one step closer, they might have been obliterated. 

The two PSI kids finally wrenched their eyes open and peeked over the rubble, holding back their breaths when they saw the battered and bruised bodies of Ike, Wolf, Robin, Meta Knight and Torracat laid across the battlefield, defeated and unmoving. They couldn’t tell if they were alive from their position. Ness darted out from behind the rubble and was about to start the run towards them when Lucas grabbed onto Ness’ wrist holding him back, tears flooding the poor boy’s eyes and he shook his head vehemently. “We can’t just leave them there!” Ness protested and Lucas shook his head again, pulling Ness behind the rubble once more and gestured at Shulk who hovered down towards the ground in the middle of the destruction he had created. The two PSI kids held their hands over each other’s mouths as Shulk let out a sigh. 

“Such a shame. I expected more resistance. However those faces wrought with despair were far more enjoyable than I expected. ‘Oh Shulk, open your eyes, it's us!’ Such foolish hopes and words. Don’t you agree?” Shulk chuckled to himself as he kicked Torracat’s limp body across the battlefield, a cloud of dust following the defeated Fire Cat pokemon. Ness and Lucas looked at each other as they listened onto Shulk talk, was he… talking to himself?

“Did you not enjoy the show? Don’t you find joy in their despair ridden faces, their worthless and hopeless attempts at calling for you?” Golden light illuminating around Shulk as he began to hover once more, tapping a finger lined with gold on his cheek, a creepy smirk littering his lips. “Leave them alone? Why should I? They are merely bugs in my path, bacteria that I can get rid of if I so desire. They mean nothing to me. Perhaps you might find solace if I returned them to the Bionis?” 

Ness and Lucas looked at each other in horror as a deep chuckle echoed out. “Didn’t enjoy my joke? I thought you enjoyed such humour when you were with your precious friends. Such a shame really, you should enjoy the second chance I am giving you. Enjoy the ride, Shulk.” Shulk let out a deep cackle as he suddenly vanished in a snap of golden light. Ness and Lucas fell against the rubble with a deep sigh of relief. Their heavy breaths echoing around them, heavy and uncertain. They peeked out from behind the rubble once more, their eyes scanning the battlefield for any signs of Shulk and concluded that the coast was clear. 

The two PSI kids ran out towards the battlefield, Lucas trailing behind Ness, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes as the two tried to gather the unconscious bodies on the battlefield. “Th-They are st-still b-breathing.” Lucas choked out between sobs as Ness gathered them together using his PSI energy, he couldn’t place names on any of those in front of him and turned to Lucas. “Who are they?” Lucas choked back another sob. “Th-they are our friends. Wolf, Ike, Robin, Meta Knight. I think T-Torracat is meant to be In-Incineroar. I-I don’t know why th-they were fighting Sh-Shulk but… but Shulk hurt them… hurt them so badly...” Those names were lost on Ness who couldn’t seem to recall them no matter how much he tried but he nodded at Lucas and helped to wipe away Lucas’ tears, calming his partner down before they bent over the unconscious group. 

“They need help.” Ness muttered and Lucas stifled another sob. “Y-yeah. Let’s try to get them back to Kirby’s group. M-Maybe they can help them.” Lucas wiped away more tears as he held his hand over the bruises that littered Ike’s body, snatching his hand back when the mercenary groaned in pain but didn’t open his eyes. “How are we going to transport them back?” Ness inquired and Lucas fumbled with his pockets and somehow pulled out a large coffee table with legs that moved. “W-We can use M-Mr Saturn’s Co-Coffee Table.” Lucas coughed out, finally wiping his tears away to help Ness load the bodies onto the Coffee Table. 

When the five defeated warriors were loaded onto the coffee table, Ness and Lucas took one more look at the desolate battlefield before they squeezed their eyes shut and turned away from the battlefield, with heavy hearts they began to make a move towards their camp where the rest of the warriors were.

* * *

The enticing smell of meat wafted through the air and Dark Pit’s eyes flew open which immediately followed up with a groan from his lips. Holding a hand over his right eye, Dark Pit mentally noted and quickly recovered himself from suddenly being able to use the right half of his body. Flexing his fingers and checking his eyesight, Dark Pit was pleasantly surprised yet utterly confused at the same time. He glanced side to side before belatedly noticing the weight on his legs. Sitting up with a shock, Dark Pit instinctively slapped Pit right across the face once more. 

The light angel rolled off the bed and landed face first on the wooden floor in a heap of white feathers as splutters of pain and discomfort echoed out. “Owww…” Pit groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head with one arm and the other supporting himself on the ground. Pit’s face seemed to grimace and then morphed into confusion before finally landing on pleasant shock at the recovery of his senses. Dark Pit watched his lighter counterpart marvel at having full control over his body with a snort, “Took you long enough.” 

Pit narrowed his eyes at Dark Pit with a pout before he got off the floor to look around prompting Dark Pit to do the same. “Where are we?” Pit murmured to himself as Dark Pit silently observed their surroundings. A quaint room, light wooden flooring, a small cabinet to the left filled with katanas and swords of different kinds and a small bedside table on the right that had a small photograph, old and grey. It was hard for Dark Pit to make out the faces in the photo. “Something smells good.” Pit piped up as he climbed back onto the bed where Dark Pit was, head tilted up as he sniffed the mildly enticing smell that floated through the air. Pit’s eyes lit up with a glimmer, both blue eyes twinkling with excitement as Dark Pit let out a low hiss. “Stop that Pit-stain. We don’t know where we are. We need to be careful-”

“Oh you are awake.” A light feminine voice called out as Dark Pit instinctively tensed up, backing up into the bed frame as Pit sat up straight staring at the stairway as a young girl walked up towards them. Smiling warmly at the two angels and their wings that were puffed up in their wariness, she stifled back a laugh. “You two really remind me of the flamii with how you puff up your wings like that.” The girl gestured to them softly. “My name is Fiora. I made you some food downstairs while waiting for you two to wake up. Why don’t you come down for a bite? I made you some of Shulk’s favourites-” 

“How do you know him?” Dark Pit hissed out between grit teeth, moving a hand behind him trying to grab at one of the swords stashed away in the cabinet next to the bed. Dark Pit’s eyes glowing, ablaze with a bright red flame as he stared down narrowly at Fiora, crimson glare staring and watching. “How do you fucking know Shulk?” Fiora met his intense red glare with a soft laugh, “Of course I do, silly. I have known Shulk since we were kids. Didn’t he tell you back when you were sharing stories over the fire?” Before Dark Pit could conjure up a retort, a sudden piercing noise of a kettle rang through the air and Fiora’s eyes widened. “Oh no! I forgot I left it on the stove!” Fumbling her way down the stairs, she quickly called up to the angels. “Come down when you can!” As her footsteps faded away, Dark Pit and Pit visibly relaxed as they looked at each other for a moment. 

A silence rang between the two angels, eyes of blue and red looking into each other searching for an answer. “I… I trust her.” Pit stuttered out, breaking their silence as he swept himself off the bed and ran to the stairs. Pit looked back at Dark Pit with a smile, “I think she is being genuine Pittoo. Let’s trust her! Besides… Don’t you remember Shulk telling us about her? I want to believe in her and where we are right now.” Pit gave Dark Pit a wink before he disappeared down the stairs before Dark Pit could get a word in. 

Pit scampered down the stairs and barrelled his way into a rustic kitchen, stone stoves, brick counters and wooden shelves, it looked quite… ancient, well to Pit at least who was used to the extravagant kitchen he had back in Skyworld. Fiora stood in front of the stove stirring something that was bubbling inside a giant pot. Pit raised his head, sniffing the air around him, picking up the smells of meat and cream as well as the subtle smells of herbs. Pit hummed in delight to himself as he gingerly walked up behind Fiora to take a peek at what she was making. His bright blue eyes observing as Fiora put the final seasonings and turned to him with a light chuckle, “Just take a seat and I will get you a portion. Would you rather a larger portion?” PIt nodded his head fervently and quickly made his way to the wooden dining table beside the kitchen, settling himself into a chair and squirming in his seat, eagerly waiting for the meal. 

“You know you sort of remind me of Reyn when you talk about food. It’s almost like you have an appetite comparable to him.” Pit raised an eye at Fiora’s comment and laughed slightly. “Maybe. I just really enjoy food and experiencing new food is always something I look forward to! Gives me more inspiration on what I can cook up in the future you know!” Fiora chuckled as she brought out a marginally bigger bowl for Pit and placed it in front of the angel. “In that case, you are very unlike Reyn since you know how to cook.” Pit grinned at Fiora as he picked up a spoon. “Thanks for the meal!” He cheered before he dug into the soup. Smooth and creamy textures filled his mouth along with the subtle bitterness of vegetables and herbs to counteract the sweetness of a thick milky substance, way too thick to be normal double cream. The chewy vegetables and tender meat gave Pit a whole ride of textures to enjoy as he took his time to savour each and every ingredient in the stew with a giant smile plastered on his face. 

“This is great!” He exclaimed out, his wings ruffling up behind him as white downy feathers puffed up. “Do give me the recipe for this later!” He pleaded with Fiora as she plated another serving of stew into a smaller bowl. “Are you sure?” She began, placing the bowl in front of the empty seat adjacent to Pit. “I am sure you will be unable to find ingredients like this in your world.” Pit shook his head, grinning as he tapped his spoon on the bowl with soft tinkling sounds. “Trust me! I can make it happen.” Fiora stifled back a laugh and nodded. “Alright I will teach you the recipe.”

As Pit and Fiora exchanged a few words about cooking and recipes, Dark Pit finally decided to grace them with his presence. The darker angel slowly made his way down the stairs, one step at a time as he kept a sharp eye on Fiora. Pit felt the burning crimson glare of his darker twin between his shoulders and he turned back to smile at Dark Pit, waving his arm at the darker angel. “Come on Pittoo! Fiora made us a really good homemade stew! Try it! It’s really delicious.” Dark Pit scowled slightly, his gaze warily shifting to Fiora who merely smiled warmly at him. “I prepared you a bowl. Don’t worry, I assure you it will taste better than it looks.” Dark Pit let out a heavy huff as he took a seat next to Pit, staring at the stew for a moment before picking up the spoon and tasting it a little. Red eyes widening at the taste that filled his mouth and Dark Pit couldn’t help but shovel a few more spoonfuls into his mouth, marvelling at the taste. A light chuckle drew his attention to Fiora who smiled slightly. “Good?” Dark Pit took a moment as he took the spoon out of his mouth, shifting his gaze away from her with a very soft “yeah.” 

“So where are we?” Pit chimed in as he pushed his empty bowl towards Fiora, gesturing for another serving as Fiora happily obliged. “You are in Colony 9 or well… perhaps you can call it Shulk’s hometown. You are currently in my house, Dunban shares the same house as I.” Dark Pit huffed as he placed his spoon back in the empty bowl. “Yeah, as if. We were just in a cave and then a sudden light. You aren’t fucking with any of us here-” 

“A dream.” A voice sounded out and both angels immediately looked towards the door where a grown man with long black hair came into the house through. “Dunban!” Fiora called out, standing abruptly as Dunban gestured for her to relax. “I see the two angels have finally woken up. It took them quite a while to wake up considering this is nothing more than a dreamscape. Though perhaps it was because we forced this dreamscape on them.” Pit blinked at Dunban and tilted his head in confusion. “A dream? But… it feels so real…” Dark Pit huffed out. “A dream can be as real as you want it to be. A dream can do almost anything you fucking desire.” Holding out his right hand and flexing his fingers before moving them over his crimson red right eye. “Even if it means fixing your body to what you dream it to be.” 

Dunban nodded slowly as he took a seat in front of Dark Pit, his calm and cool demeanour seemed to resonate with the darker angel who calmed down almost instantly. “We needed to speak to you two.” Dunban began as he leaned forward, arms on the table as he flicked his gaze between Pit and Dark Pit. “We have already spoken to your other friends Toon and Corrin through their dreams, so it only left you two left.” Pit opened his mouth to interrupt but a swift kick from Dark Pit under the table was enough to shut the light angel up. “It wasn’t our intention to confuse you, but in order to speak to you in this dream, a few forceful measures were taken.” 

Dark Pit snorted out as he rested his chin on his hand. “Forgiven. Carry on.” Dunban seemed to smile slightly before continuing. “We know you want to save Shulk, but we saw how much you guys struggled against Zanza. Even from those confines in spirit orbs, we can see and hear everything. I have tried to talk your friend Corrin out of his delusions but it seems like it will take a while before he can fully regain himself-” 

“You mean Corrin will be stuck acting like that forever?” Pir blurted out and Dark Pit made a sharp hissing noise, elbowing Pit right in the gut to get the lighter angel to pipe down. Dunban shook his head, “No. I do not think he will act like that forever, but he needs… time to himself. To gather his thoughts and regain confidence once more before he will be fully rational again.” Pit fell back into his chair deflated, wings drooping behind him. “But how long will that take? Days? Weeks? We need to defeat Zanza now and get Shulk back or-or…” Dark Pit let out a snarl as he grabbed onto Pit’s hand tightly, squeezing to make the lighter angel look at him. “Calm down, Pit-stain.” Pit breathed in sharply and paced his breathing once more and nodded as Dunban continued. “You do not have to worry. We have a way to help with that. What we need you to do is believe in Shulk, support each other and help each other. Only then can your combined forces beat Zanza.” 

Dunban held his left hand to his heart. “Believe in your inner strength and the strength of others around you.” Fiora smiled and nodded. “Dunban is right. I have spoken with Link and we managed to help him come to terms with it. You must understand that in order to get Shulk back, you need to fight Zanza who has his body. Please believe in Shulk. Fight Zanza with all you have and call out to Shulk, believe in him that he will come back.” The two angels looked at each other, a sea or red and blue gazing and understanding one another before a sigh. “Alright. We will try our best.” Pit weakly smiled as Dark Pit made a clicking noise with his tongue. “That’s fine and all but how are we even going to find Zanza in the first place?” 

“We will guide you to him. All of us will.” Standing at the doorway was another much larger size young man, following behind him were 3 others, a tanned woman, a pale young lady with wings on her head and a round furball. “Pit, Dark Pit.” Fiora smiled as she gestured to the newcomers one by one. “Reyn, Sharla, Melia and Riki.” Pit stood up abruptly and pointed at Melia with wide eyes. “You-You have wings on your head!” His eyes sparkling with curiosity as Melia nodded and ran her fingers through her soft downy feathers. “Indeed. I must admit looking at ‘angels’ like you who have their wings on your shoulders is quite fascinating.” 

As Pit and Melia went on and on about wings, Dark Pit shot a look at Sharla who was standing to the side talking with Reyn and Riki about something he couldn’t quite understand, Colony 6 or some sort. His gaze must have been quite intense because it was enough for Sharla to turn around and face him. “Is there something wrong?” She inquired as Dark Pit huffed out deeply. “You are the medic of the team aren’t you? I remember Nerd telling me about the roles of his teammates and their names.” Sharla nodded as she excused herself from Reyn and Riki to talk with Dark Pit privately. 

“What do you want to know?” She hummed, placing a finger on her chin as she looked at the dark angel. Ruffling up his dark feathers, Dark Pit placed a hand on his waist. “Nerd… No, Shulk told me you once shot Wings-On-Her-Head to heal her.” Sharla narrowed her eyes concerned at Dark Pit and sighed, shaking her head. “I didn’t shoot her directly, I fired an ether cartridge into the air and allowed the dispersed ether to heal her. While shooting using a Water-based ether cartridge would not be as harmful as say a Fire-based one, it will still hurt a lot. Enough to knock someone out for sure and you will still need to treat them for that bullet wound.” Dark Pit raised an eye at Sharla’s statement, his crimson glare glinting. Dunban perked an eye at Dark Pit and chuckled. “You seem to have a pretty nasty idea in your mind.” Dark Pit clicked his tongue with a smirk. “Don’t worry, it isn’t as bad as you think. Besides, it will most likely be a last ditch option if anything. Just to be sure...” He turned back to Sharla, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“What is the anatomy of Homs like?”

* * *

“Are you certain?” Disbelief and shock was all too apparent in Zelda’s voice as Ness and Lucas nodded in sync, Lucas sniffling as he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes again. “It was so scary… it was almost like he didn’t know them. He just blasted them away without a care in the world.” Zelda bit her lip at Lucas’ words and looked over at Ness who only nodded in agreement and she sighed. “I-I don’t believe that… but there is no way a puppet can do this much damage to them.” She ran her fingers over the bandages that covered Torracat’s back and she drew back a sharp breath when the pokemon mewed in pain from the brief touch. 

Drawing her hands back, Zelda took in a deep breath as she looked behind her at Joker who held Kirby in his arms. The tiny pink puffball was sobbing as well, tears flooding the tiny star warrior’s eyes as they looked over at Meta Knight’s injured body, trying his hardest not to cry. Kirby buried his face into Joker’s clothes as Zelda shook her head. “It's all too much for Kirby. I have treated their injuries as much as I could, but we will have to wait for them to wake up on their own.” Joker smiled warmly at Zelda. “You have done as much as you could without your magic. Don’t beat yourself over it Zelda.” 

“So what’s da plan?” A rough voice called out as they entered the tent, Terry standing tall and sturdy over the injured patients as Banjo sneaked his way in as well to listen on. Joker let a sigh escape his lips. “We cannot let Shulk just do what he pleases. We will have to stop him or there will be even more casualties.” Terry raised an eye at Joker and sighed. “Are ya sure about that? He is ya friend right? Ya know, part of the good guys ‘n’ all.” Joker nodded slowly as he bit his lip, “Even so, we cannot allow him to continue to hurt our friends and comrades like this. Kirby, are you sure you are okay with this?” Joker looked down at Kirby who could only cry and nod in agreement.

“Let everyone know. If you see Shulk, kill him on sight.”


	24. Dharkon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is getting long... very long.   
We are reaching the climax of the fic, but yet again I am bad at writing fighting scenes so bear with me. UwU

### Chapter 24: Dharkon...?

Screeching tires and tracks raced across the barren landscape, tripping over gravel, scattered debris and swerving sharply to avoid the rocks in their path. The landmaster charged through the Dark Realm, engines revving and sputtering as Falco forced it to reach speeds that it was way past its limits. The avian pilot pulled the gears back as his foot pressed harder into the gas pedal, the engine lurching and screaming in retaliation as a ‘tsk’ left the bird’s beak. Grabbing a lever, Falco pulled it back as he made the Landmaster drift to the right just in time to avoid a giant rock on the road. 

“Flamethrower!” Red hastily called out as Charmeleon let loose a bright red stream of flames, hues of orange licking the air with a bright glow as it engulfed the pursuer in a giant ball of bright orange flames. Holding steady on his gun, Fox shot a barrage of lasers, fast and quick at the growing ball of fire that was still hurtling towards them. Over and over the barrage of flames and lasers continued as Falco focused his attention on driving the landmaster, trying to outrun their pursuer. “Step on it Falco!” Fox called out as he dropped his gun with a flinch of pain, the barrel getting way too hot to hold. 

A bright white glow burst out from the ball of fire, glowing brighter and brighter. Fox and Red instinctively raised their arms to their face as a giant forceful wind blew away the flames, the ashes of the fire dissipating into dust as gusts of energy extinguished them all. A bright white blade extending from Replica swirling with pure white ether energy, much like the colour that was reflected in Shulk’s left eye. He lifted his head up, face decorated with bright golden lines and an uncanny smirk as he launched forward at the fleeing vehicle. 

The bright blue blade slammed right into the reflective barrier that Fox brought up, sparks flying from the clash as Fox bit his lip and tried to push Shulk back. Neither side wanted to give way, but it was a losing battle for Fox as his knees began to buckle under him. Shulk’s eyes widened, sharp and crazed as he pushed further into Fox’s Shine reflector, his lips furling into a smirk. “I admire your resistance. You have done well to evade me so far.” Shulk pushed Replica further into Fox’s Shine, the reflector starting to crack under the weight of the clash. “Others haven’t been brave enough to attack this vessel head on like you. You should be proud of your measly achievement for now.” A shattering sound as Shulk broke through Fox’s Shine, the Leader of Star Fox stumbled back as Shulk brought up Replica ready to slice Fox right in two. 

“Bullet Seed!” A barrage of giant seeds pelted hard at Shulk’s wrist causing him to hiss in pain, grip fumbling as Replica fell to the ground with a clatter. Shulk grabbed his bruised wrist, black and blue with bruises and winced at the pain, clutching at it yet still wearing that uncomfortable smirk. “Not bad…” He hissed out with one eye shut tight and the other eyeing Red who had recalled Charmeleon in favour of Bulbasaur. With another rev of the engine, the landmaster shot forward, finally managing to shake Shulk off. Yet the smirk did not leave Shulk’s lips as his golden wings helped to lower him down to grab Replica once more. 

“Did we lose him?” Falco called back as Red helped Fox back into the Arwing docked on top of the speeding Landmaster. “I think so.” Red replied as he dared a glance back, watching Shulk bend down to pick up his fallen weapon and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Let’s quickly get out of here.” Fox breathed out between heavy pants as red helped settle him into the pilot seat of the Arwing. Suddenly, Riolu leaped out of the Arwing to stand on top of the vehicle, hackles raised and lips curling into a snarl. Before Red could get in a word at the baby aura Pokemon, Riolu gathered its paws together, energy condensing in a ball of aura before it was shot out.

Almost immediately, a giant tendril of black covered in dark purple veins ending in a sharp red spike burst out from the ground right in front of the Landmaster’s path, the aura sphere collided with the tentacle causing a giant explosion of blue aura energy, the shockwave enough to swerve the Landmaster off course before it crashed head first into Dharkon’s tendril. A howl of pain echoed out as the eyeball of darkness and chaos floated out of the stirring darkness, retracting back its tentacles as Falco slammed on the brakes to prevent the Landmaster from spinning out of control. 

“Pesky little thing…” Dharkon hissed out as the Landmaster came to an abrupt stop, the passengers aboard being flung from side to side from all the sudden swerving and turns that the vehicle went through. Riolu stared back at Dharkon, growling and fur standing on end, as steely as it could muster as Fox and Falco got out of their cockpits, pointing their guns at Dharkon as the embodiment of Chaos and Darkness let out a cackle. “Still have some fight in you? You should just give up already. Zanza and I have you cornered.” 

“Zanza?” Falco blurted out as a bright flash of golden light erupted behind them, and there hovering slightly in the air was Shulk, cloaked in gold with his bright golden wings and halo behind him. “Talking about me behind my back, Dharkon? You do know I do not tolerate such insults.” The voice of Shulk, cold and almost unfamiliar to Falco as the bird had his back to Fox, the two pilots of Star Fox back to back as they pointed their guns at the two gods before them. Charmeleon, Bulbasaur and Riolu stood by Red’s side, protecting the Landmaster-Arwing. “Apologies Zanza.” Dharkon drawled simply as the two gods began to close in on Fox’s team. Fox and Falco pressed their backs against each other as they began to whisper to each other. “Dharkon called him Zanza, what do you make of it Fox?” Falco whispered out as Fox steadied his gun at Dharkon. “Don’t think too hard on it now, Falco. Focus on the battle.” Falco made a clicking noise with his beak in retaliation.

With a battle cry, Falco rushed out at Zanza, his gun shooting bright blue lasers laced with shocking electricity that the god deflected with a flick of his finger as Falco came in close, doing a round-house kick that Zanza blocked with his arm glowing with the same golden lines. A cruel smile, “You are going to have to try better than that bird brain.” Zanza drawled as he suddenly pulled back from the stream of flames that Charmeleon breathed out. “Worthless insects.” Zanza spat out as he drew Replica out, the blue blade bursting out, brimming with ether energy.

Fox, Bulbasaur and Riolu rushed down Dharkon, Fox shooting lasers from his gun as Bulbasaur continued the barrage with razor leaf. Riolu leaped into the air and high jump kicked Dharkon straight in the eye causing the eyeball to fling back slightly and a howl of pain to echo out. “You will pay for that! Insolent mutts!” Tendrils of dark black and purple shooting out bullets as the three of them split up to gracefully dodge the bright pink bullets shot their way much to Dharkon’s chagrin. 

Sparks flew as the battle raged on.

* * *

Pit blinked his eye open and held his right arm over his face, mumbling something before pushing himself off the ground. The sound of shuffling feathers and metal behind him made Pit turn back to stare at Dark Pit who was finishing the final preparations on his staff. “You finally decided to wake up.” Dark Pit grumbled at Pit as he shoved his staff into his satchel and stretched his wing behind him. Pit rubbed his eye before standing up with a yawn. “Morning Pittoo. That dream with Dunban, Fiora, Melia and everyone else was weird but thanks to that I got quite a good rest!” 

Dark Pit rolled his eye and moved over to help gather the spirit orbs into Shulk’s bag as Pit turned to the sleeping Toon and Corrin. Shaking Toon gently, Pit watched as Toon’s eyes fluttered open, a loud messy yawn from the young Hylian as he sat up against Corrin’s smooth scales and rubbed his eyes. “Morning Toon.” Pit signed as Toon nodded slowly and signed back the same greeting. Toon and Pit turned their gaze to the sleeping dragon whose breaths and muted rumbles were reverberating throughout the entire cave as it snored on. Gingerly, Toon held a hand towards the dragon’s snout and rubbed the scales under its chin, causing the dragon’s body to suddenly shiver and the dragon lifted its head up in a soft coo. Scratching under the dragon’s jaw made it roll over as the dragon lay on its back, allowing both Pit and Toon to rub its belly, cooing and whining at the touch. 

Dark Pit watched them play with Corrin in mild amusement before stifling a cough, causing Pit to turn to him and shake his head. “Dunban was right. Corrin still isn’t himself just yet.” Dark Pit let out a snort, grabbing Shulk’s bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Yeah no shit, Pit-stain.” Toon held a hand over Corrin’s snout as the dragon began to lick the young sailor’s hand, covering him in thick drool as Toon attempted to shake it off. “I think he is still in there… he just needs time.” Toon signed to the two and both angels nodded in agreement. Pit gazed upon Toon, biting back his words as he hesitated slightly, but he steeled himself, shaking his head. He couldn’t hesitate now, if they wasted more time, Shulk might actually be lost for good. Signing for Toon’s attention, Pit hastily signed, “We are going to go fight Shulk… We won’t be able to avoid fighting him if we want to get him back. You can stay here with Corrin if you want.” Pit trailed off when he saw Toon stare at him, eyes wide and sparkling. “I will go. Shulk is my friend too.” Pit held back his hand and sighed, he shouldn’t have doubted the little Hylian.

The group continued to gather their belongings and when everything was ready and packed, Pit once again turned to Toon. “Toon are you ready to go? Are you sure you will be fine-” Pit was interrupted mid-signing as Toon looked at the angel, confidence and determination alight in his eyes and Pit smiled, ruffling Toon’s head before picking up his own satchel and his Palutena Bow.

After coaxing the dragon back up to its feet, the group checked their injuries, noting how they mostly recovered from it all despite a few sore spots here and there. With their belongings secured and everything in check, the group led Corrin slowly out of the cave. The dragon showed a little resistance and clumsiness as it seemed reluctant to leave the comfort of the cave whilst tripping over the blue chains that shackled its forelimbs, something which annoyed Dark Pit greatly. “Why does he have to chain himself up anyways?” Dark Pit grumbled over and over again as they ventured out of the cave. 

As they stood outside the cave, Pit ran a hand along Corrin’s back to calm him down as Toon continued to coax the dragon slowly with gentle rubs along his neck. Dark Pit reached into Shulk’s bag and pulled out the six spirit orbs, handing one to Pit, two to Toon and two to Corrin by placing it in his jaws. “Don’t you fucking dare crush those orbs.” Dark Pit threatened the dragon as the dragon shivered slightly but seemed to understand as it bowed its head in submission. Holding one himself, Dark Pit looked to the group and steeled himself. “Ready?” 

“Ready.” Came the confident voices of Pit and Toon as well as the soft rumbles from Corrin. The group held the orbs out in a circle as the spirit orbs began to glow with a bright white light. The light gathered and condensed into a small sphere that shot towards the sky that hovered there, waiting for the next order. Slowly, Pit, Dark Pit and Toon clambered onto Corrin’s back, helping each other onto Corrin’s uneven back. Oddly enough, Corrin was quite compliant and easily allowed them to sit on his back, cooing in satisfaction once all three were comfortable on his back. 

“Don’t let us down, Lizard Brain.” Dark Pit hissed. “We are counting on you Corrin!” Pit grinned in encouragement. Toon let his hand massage Corrin’s neck with a wide smile, “You can do it.” He muttered in a shaky voice as the dragon nodded, letting out an excited sound akin to a dog’s bark. Then the group turned to the orb in the sky. “Lead us to Shulk.” 

Even though they were alone in this space, the echoing voices of Shulk’s companions filled the air, reverberating in their hearts and minds. “Y'all got this! Do us proud out there!” Reyn’s upbeat voice filled their hearts with courage. “Remember to take care of yourselves and look out for each other.” Sharla’s caring voice surrounded them. “Believe in yourself and trust in each other.” Dunban’s calm and cool voice reminded them. “Do not fear what you shall face, face it with courage and hope.” Melia’s stern yet warm voice advised. “Riki know you will all do Shulk proud! You are all the real Heropon!” Riki’s voice filled their hearts with joy. “Do not forget, we are here with you.” Fiora’s soft voice called out.

The ball of light shot out towards the horizon and with a whine Corrin’s wings spread out behind him, as he launched himself into the air, wings flapping as they chased after the guiding ball of light. The roars of a dragon echoing across the skies as a silver dragon shot through the sky, chasing after a ball of light whose destination was the very middle of the Dark Realm. Towards the very start of the Dark Realm itself.

* * *

Heavy breaths, sore muscles and heaving backs against each other as Fox, Falco and Red surrounded by their Pokemon allies panted hard as they tried to recuperate themselves in a group. Huddling on each other as they watched the battlefield around them, waiting for the two gods to show up from whatever small wormhole they had retreated into. “You should go, Falco.” Fox breathed out, throaty and raw. “If you can escape and tell Kirby’s group that Dharkon is here, we might still be able to win this.” Falco coughed out a weak chuckle. “You are too out of breath to convince me, Fox.” Falco retaliated back with his usual sass as Red withdrew Bulbasaur, the grass pokemon way too fatigued to go on.

“We won’t hold out much longer.” Red muttered out, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “At the very least one of us should go and inform the others.” Digging into his satchel, Red tossed a sitrus berry to Riolu and Charmeleon, before taking a deep breath to find more berries to supply his Pokemon companions with more healing. “That’s why you must go Falco.” Fox insisted as he held his gun pointed towards the imperceptible darkness around them. “As long as you go, we will guarantee the safety of at least one of us.” Falco made a clicking noise with his beak and then huffed. “I hate this but… Alright. I will do it.” 

Riolu’s ears perked up and it immediately started to growl, the group took notice and immediately split up as tentacles burst out from the ground directly below where they were standing prior. Long tendrils of black twisted and whipped about, the group skillfully dodging around the moving appendages, except Red who had fallen over and was crawling out of the way. The tendrils gathered and folded in upon itself surrounding the glowing yellow and blue eye as Dharkon hissed out, his voice thick with malice. “Stop running away from me!” Falco took the opportunity to stick a tongue out at Dharkon only for the embodiment of chaos to screech and lash out at the avian pilot as Falco continued to taunt Dharkon. “It’s just that your moves are too telegraphed octopus legs!”

Fox flanked Dharkon and began his barrage of lasers once more, one by one he shot lasers at Dharkon chipping away at the embodiment of darkness as Falco kept him distracted. “Bark!” Came a cry from Riolu as Riolu suddenly crashed head first into Fox, sending the Captain of Star Fox barreling across the battlefield but more importantly pushed Fox out the way as Replica shining blue blade slid down carving a deep gash into Riolu’s back. The Pokemon howled loudly, agony coursing through its body as it fell to the ground, dark red blood slowly oozing out of the deep gash in its back as Zanza tried to bring down Replica onto Riolu to end him for good.

“Flare Blitz!” The resounding command of Red pierced through as Charmeleon cloaked itself in bright orange flames, burning around the fire type as Charmeleon leaped out at Zanza. A trail of blazing embers followed behind Charmeleon as he charged towards the golden god, crashing into Zanza, sending them both flying into the earth. Red ran up to Riolu and cuddled the baby aura pokemon in his arms, fumbling with his satchel as he tried to find anything to treat Riolu’s wound with.

Shaking his head and recovering himself, Fox pulled himself to his feet, rubbing the dust out of his eyes before gasping at Riolu’s injured state. Running over to Red, he was suddenly interrupted by a blinding red dragon being flung right into his side. With a strangled gasp of pain, Fox tumbled over and crashed, landing right next to Falco who was handling Dharkon quite easily with skillful dodges. Fox coughed and groaned out in pain, trying to push himself back up despite Charmeleon’s unconscious weight on him. “This is getting boring…” Zanza grunted out as he drew himself out of the rubble, the only visible damage on him was the slight burn on his clothes, Shulk’s clothes.

Giving Dharkon another swift kick right in the eye and sending the Eye of Darkness tumbling aside, Falco quickly retreated back towards Fox, regrouping with Red who cradled Riolu in his arms. They stood over Fox, putting themselves between Fox and Zanza as Zanza hovered over, golden light brimming brightly off his skin illuminated by sickening golden lines. “I thought you would give me more of a challenge. But I am amused no longer.” Zanza drawled as he drew Replica to his side, the blade bursting out with a large purple ether blade as Zanza’s left eye seemed to shift ever so slightly to purple. “Watching foolish mortals like you struggle is amusing to a certain degree, but now I am bored. You put up a great fight. Better than most.” 

Red breathed in sharply, his gaze landed for a brief moment on Falco before he bit his lip. With a quick push, Red pushed Falco out of the way, his words quivering as they left his lips with a strained cry, “RUN FALCO!” Falco wanted to squawk back in retaliation but seeing Red’s eyes, quivering and stressed with fear, Falco stifled back a cry as his legs began to move. The ace avian pilot ran, his wings outstretched as he tried to reach for the Landmaster. Falco could not shake off the growing anxiety in his stomach, the fear of looking back strong in him as he willed his body to move forward, feathers bristling in dread. If he could get in and drive away at least… at least-!

“You aren’t going anywhere… BIRD BRAIN!” Zanza launched himself at Falco, his sword drawn back as a wide smirk painted his lips, eyes narrow with a crazed look as he caught up to Falco with a flap of his iridescent golden wings, a trail of golden sparks in his wake as he swung Replica right at Falco. Time slowed down as Red turned his gaze towards Falco, eyes wide and watering over with tears as his lips opened in a strangled cry, Falco daring to look back as his voice was caught in his throat. “FALCO!”

“GET OFF HIM!” A sharp voice yelled out accompanied by the threatening roar of a beast as a silver dragon barrelled its way across the battlefield, slamming its heavy silver horns straight into Zanza, sending the golden god flying, crashing and grinding into the ground before slamming straight into Dharkon that had barely recovered out of the dirt. A cloud of dust erupted from the two gods landing as the silver dragon flapped its wings slowly and gently, making a slow descent towards the ground, atop its back were Pit, Dark Pit and Toon. Red breathed out a sigh of relief and Falco collapsed on the ground in muted shock as the three jumped off Corrin’s back. 

“You guys alright? Thank Lady Palutena we made it on time!” Pit breathed out, relief laced in his voice as he held out his right hand to help Falco to his feet. Falco shook his head and nodded, voice still raw and throaty from shock, “Y-yeah… You guys saved us.” A snort from Dark Pit as he placed a hand on his waist with a smirk. “You are fucking welcome by the way.” Toon ran up to Red, helping Red pick up Riolu as Red withdrew Charmeleon into its Pokeball. Red looked up at Toon and gave a weak smile and bent down to pick up Fox and carry the unconscious leader on his back. “Thank you.” Red mouthed out slowly as Toon smiled warmly with a wide grin after reading his lip movements. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Red blurted out as Pit ran over to calm Corrin down with a few pats and scratches under the chin before the silver dragon could bound over to Red and try to cover the trainer and Fox with his thick slobber. Dark Pit scowled and made a clicking noise with his tongue as he drew a sharp gaze at Red. “Obviously sightseeing like the tourists we are.” Rolling his eye. “We are here for Shulk.” Red blinked at Dark Pit and was about to open his mouth when a rumble was heard behind them. Corrin reared back, wings pressed hard against his back, tail sweeping across the ground as it fixed its head towards the pile of rubble. 

Bursting out of the rubble in a golden blur, sword drawn in a bright blue ether light shooting right at the group like a golden missile as Zanza, eyes wide and ablaze with fury as the rest of his expression was hidden by his arm. Yet the fire in his eyes, the fury that oozed out of his glowing body was more than enough to express his insurmountable anger. With a clash, Corrin parried Zanza’s blade with his long and menacingly curved horns as sparks flew from the clash. A crazed and fury induced smile plastered itself on Zanza’s face, ever so wrong on Shulk’s face that Zanza had stolen. “You dare hurt a GOD?” Zanza sneered out as the silver dragon continued to push back, growling slightly, its strength was barely enough to keep Zanza at bay as the group behind them hurried about in a rush.

“Go!” Pit cried out to Falco’s group as he drew his Palutena Bow with a golden flair. “We will hold him off! You guys have to get out of here!” Falco turned around, eyes wide as he sputtered out in a wrangled squawk, “What about you guys? You can’t defeat him! Your injuries-” Falco was interrupted by Red placing a hand on his shoulder, the Pokemon Trainer still looked stunned, bruises on his skin but he looked on at Pit’s group with a nod. “Leave it to them. We have to treat Fox, Riolu and my Pokemon.” Falco scowled and quickly nodded, jumping into the Landmaster as Red clambered into the Arwing cockpit. Engines revving as the Landmaster took off once more. 

“You aren’t getting away!” Dharkon screeched out as he shot a tentacle out at the fleeing landmaster only for an arrow laced with a bomb to shoot through the air, embed itself deep into the tentacle and with a spark, exploded the tentacle into ribbons of purple light particles. A wrangled scream rumbled through the air as Toon drew back another arrow just in case Dharkon decided to attack the fleeing Landmaster once more. Soon the Landmaster disappeared on the horizon, leaving only Pit, Dark Pit, Toon and Corrin to fend off the two gods. “You can do it Corrin!” Pit screamed out in encouragement as the dragon roared out and pushed Zanza back before spreading its wings out and leaped backwards towards the group, tripping slightly over the chains on its limbs. 

Zanza keeled back in the air for a bit as Dharkon drew up next to the Golden God as they stared down the group that stayed behind to hold them off. “How?” Zanza sneered, a scowl all over the features he stole from Shulk. “How did you survive that attack?” Dark Pit scoffed, holding his Silver Bow at Zanza as Pit and Toon did the same with their weapons. “Who gives a fuck on how we survived. What matters is that we are standing right before your fucking ass and you are about to get your fucking ass beat!” Zanza scowled, gripping hard onto Replica’s hilt as Dharkon let out a loud cackle.

“Insects like you think you can beat us? You are so naive to think you can best the both of us. Once we make sure you are gone for good, we will go after those fleeing pests and this whole world will be ours!” Dharkon drawled as his tentacles lashed out, their sharp red tips glimmering menacingly as Zanza lowered his head, blade glowing a bright golden colour, the same colour as Zanza himself. “Yes... ‘Ours’....” 

With a swift swing, Zanza spun around and the shimmering golden blade sliced right across Dharkon’s eye.

Silence touched the battlefield for a brief moment as all present at the scene stared on in utter shock at Zanza’s actions. The golden blade sliced cleanly through Dharkon’s eyes, dark purple light particles fizzled and brimmed out the giant gash across Dharkon’s eye. The silence broken by Dharkon’s messy and gargled agonized screams. The embodiment of chaos of darkness fell to the ground, tentacles writhing wildly, thrashing about the ground sending giant clouds of dust into the air as Zanza drew the sword back, a light smirk on his face as he watched on at the tormented Dharkon in mild amusement. 

“Wh-what the-” Pit blurted out as Zanza drew his gaze towards the group standing before him, watching as each individual tensed up before his cold gaze dripping with cruelty. “Do not be surprised.” Zanza drawled as the golden light around him seemed to glow brighter and brighter, the golden lines on Shulk’s body beginning to illuminate the world around them, at the rate they were going, the Dark Realm would no longer be the Dark Realm as Zanza’s light spread out across the horizon. “Everything in this world and the worlds beyond this world is dictated by the passage of fate. As all that exists is interconnected, it can only flow towards the inevitable. That is the vision of which I, the Monado, am the origin.” 

“Z-Zanza-” Dharkon snarled out only for a blast of golden light to congeal itself in Zanza’s hand before being swiftly shot at Dharkon, barely missing the embodiment of Chaos and Destruction. “What a pathetic excuse of a god.” Zanza sneered as he drew Replica in an arc around him. “You were useless, utterly useless in all the battles we have done together. You were kicked to the ground by a literal bird, driven into a corner by a boy and his pet lizard. You do not deserve to call yourself a god.” Zanza held out his hand, golden lines glowing brightly as another ball of light appeared, condensing with strong ether energy in his palm. “You were so foolish to believe I was working alongside you. Absolutely ignorant to the fact you told me your weakness to my light. This world only has room for ONE god, and that God will be me. I never intended to share this world with you. This world… belongs to ME!” 

Zanza drew back his arm ready to fling the golden sphere of energy at Dharkon when an arrow whizzed through the air, scraping by Zanza’s cheek and flying past the god. It didn’t hurt the god of the Bionis but it was enough to distract him as Zanza turned to scowl at Toon who shakily held his bow in his tiny, sweaty palms. “You dare to attack me? Foolish mortals. You dare oppose a god? Even though I have shown you despair at my hands, at the hands of your pitiful friend, Shulk, you still dare to oppose me?” 

The group tensed up at the name of their friend, but still they kept their weapons pointed at Zanza. “We will fight you over and over again until you give Shulk back to us!” Pit cried out as Dark Pit came up beside his lighter twin. “You can kick us down as many times as you fucking like, but we will still stand against you and fight you till we defeat you.” Toon put away his bow in favour of his Master Sword and Shield, his lips quivering and his voice was shrill, pitched and shaky, “Until we get Shulk back!” A roar echoed out behind them, chains rattling as Corrin drew up behind the group, hackles raised, fangs glimmering as his mouth parted open in guttural, feral noises. “We know you can’t kill Shulk just yet!” Dark Pit jeered as he let a smirk touch his lips, crimson eye looking straight at Zanza full of confidence. “After all, if Shulk were to die, that body of yours won’t hold up. Its too deeply ingrained with Shulk for you to let go.” The group watched as Zanza made Shulk’s face twist and contort into that of anger and then suddenly a smile, cruel and cold.

“So be it.” Zanza smirked as Dharkon hastily made his retreat further and further away from the light like a fleeing ball of purple into the horizon. “I will show you the power of a God.” 

“And what it means to oppose me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For an eyeball... Dharkon really did not SEE that coming huh...  
I have no other projects planned after StLD, so thank you all for reading as far as you have! Maybe one day I will get motivation for something else.


	25. Zanza the Divine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fight against Zanza begins. As an apology for making my readers wait, I have a little gift for those who made it this far. While working on this chapter, I took some time off to draw a lot of StLD content that I shared with Ryss, the artist who designed Corrin for this story, and from that I decided to break my hand and draw a PMV. I am not as good as Ryss when it comes to arting, but I still would like to thank everyone who has supported StLD all this time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> You can view the StLD PMV Here (Its an Unlisted Video):   
https://youtu.be/90lkVPZXyk4

### Chapter 25: Zanza the Divine

“Stop… Stop it… Just stop it please… STOP IT!” Shulk’s voice cried out, dry, raw and shaky from disuse as he let out a flurry of dry coughs, sore and pained. “Leave them alone!” Shulk choked out as his voice began to trail off and die, weak and frail. “Please…” he sobbed out once more, his hand straining to reach out to his friends beyond what he could see as he floated in the passage of fate, his fingers number and his arm aching from the simple motion alone. He had been trapped like this for days now and without anything to do but watch Zanza fight his friends, his allies, people he knew. Shulk cried out weakly, pale frustration stabbing his heart as his hand fell limp to the solid resistance below him. 

He wanted to scream, he wanted to call out to his friends. He couldn’t bear to watch Zanza harm them any further, watching Replica’s blue blade be swung around, clashing with the weapons of his friends, of the ones he so deeply grew close to on his journey. He couldn’t bear watching himself, his very own body fight his own friends. He knew it was all Zanza’s doing but he still couldn’t shake off the guilt that Zanza was using his body, his body that he was so foolish to ignore. Shulk curled up on himself, unable to watch the fight any further as he squeezed his eyes shut, clutching his head towards his chest as he choked out soft, pained words of apology over and over again. 

If he could… he would try to reach out to them, fight against Zanza’s control and stop the fight, to be back with his friends again, to go back to a time where they all had fun sitting by the campside sharing stories. What he would give to go back to those times, to be happy with his friends by his side-

_“But you did not trust them enough to tell them about what was going on with your body.”_

Zanza’s words stabbed at his heart and Shulk choked out a sob. That's right, he didn’t trust them… he lied to them. They were all so forgiving so kind… and yet he just threw them all aside as if their trust was nothing. Even Dark Pit, Dark Pit! He openly allowed Shulk to talk to him, gave him ample opportunity to talk, but yet Shulk pushed him away and even continued to shy away from the Dark nagel who showed uncharacteristic kindness. Shulk’s body tensed up, muscles heaving in pain and fatigue. 

He didn’t deserve to go back to them. He was too weak to go back to them, he had tried over and over again to fight against Zanza’s control of his body but nothing changed. It all ended with Shulk losing, defeated and deflated in the darkest depths of his own mind. His friends were only fighting him just to kill the threat. A weak chuckle left Shulk’s dry lips, short and raspy. No one would come for him. He did this to himself. He turned himself against them. It wasn’t just Zanza’s fault. It was his fault.

All his fault. 

Curling on himself, Shulk continued to sob and cry, chiding himself over and over again for his mistakes. Yet again, he found himself tearing his mind away from the fight that happened outside the depths of his own mind as he considered surrendering to the predetermined path of fate. That was the only option that perpetuated within his dizzying thoughts as he lay there, chains heavy as they weighed him down and the metal collar constricting as he sobbed and cried all in the solitude of the Passage of Fate.

* * *

Heavy footsteps against the ground sounded out across the battlefield as Pit rushed out at Zanza, his Palutena Bow split in half as usual with one end in his mouth and the other end in his right. With a strong foot against the ground, Pit launched himself into the air, wing spread out behind him as he slammed his entire weight into Zanza who held out Replica to parry his swipe, Pit grimaced a little and continued to push harder and harder using his momentum, twisting his head as he tried to use the other half in his mouth to try and get past Zanza’s defense. However Zanza simply ducked under Pit’s move and his knee flew into Pit’s gut. Pit choked out a gasp, the Bow half in his jaws fell to the ground with a clatter as he was sent straight into Dark Pit who was trying to assist Pit with a follow up attack. The two angels were flung across the battlefield into a giant cloud of dust, coughing and rasping breaths echoing out as they pulled themselves off each other.

“Fucking watch it Pit-stain!” Dark Pit growled out, grabbing his Silver Bow that had fallen to his side, using his foot to kick Pit off him. Pit groaned, clutching at his bruised stomach as he rolled onto his back, wheezing out as he gasped in pain. “This isn’t working Pittoo… He keeps reading our moves.” Dark Pit rolled his eye and struggled to his feet, “Dumbass Zanza can see the future!” Dark Pit yelled out at Pit, crimson eye burning with slight annoyance as Pit sat up with a hiss of pain only for a hot breath to settle itself on Dark Pit’s shoulder, a cold voice whispering out in his ear. “That’s not the only reason,” Zanza breathed onto Dark Pit’s shoulder, harsh and grating. “I have seen you all fight through Shulk. I know everything about you.” Dark Pit twisted himself, using his Silver Bow to slash behind him but Zanza had already jumped out of the way. Golden wings fluttering, golden lines on Shulk’s skin glimmering with pure mockery. 

“I know all your habits. How you fight, how you act.” Zanza drawled, sending shivers down the both angels’ spine as he played with Replica in his grip. “I even know what you are thinking. ‘If we can just subdue him, we can figure something out. We don’t have to hurt him.’ Cute.” Zanza chuckled out mockingly as he drew Replica to his side, the blade shining bright blue. “But your thinking is naive.” Raising the blade to swing it down upon the two angels, Dark Pit grabbed Pit, hauling his lighter counterpart up and trying to outrun Zanza despite the extra baggage as Zanza leaped at them, golden wings spread out wide and a cruel smile on Shulk’s stolen face. 

“Yeeee Hawww!” Came the shrill pitched scream from a small Hylian as Corrin slammed his entire weight into Zanza, knocking the god away from the two angels as the dragon planted itself between Zanza and the angels. Toon sat on Corrin’s back, bow drawn with an arrow shakily pulled back, aimed at Zanza. Zanza caught himself as he stood back up, straight, running golden fingers through Shulk’s blonde hair with a smirk. “I see. So that’s how you wish to play.” 

Zanza drew Replica in front of him as the colour in his left eye began to flicker, changing from the distant gold colour into a bright blue as he swung the blade out, coating his legs in a bright blue aura. Bending down, Zanza launched himself at the group at a blinding pace, his speed way too fast for Toon to follow. In a panic, Toon let the arrow loose as the arrow sailed through the air, Zanza merely tilted his head to the side as the sharp projectile flew past his head comfortably missing. He swiftly drew himself up onto Corrin’s back right behind Toon who instinctively turned with another arrow drawn and froze when he saw Zanza right up in his face. Arrow’s sharp end pointed between Zanza’s eyes that bled with gold and blue, a certain character reflected in his left blue eye.

“Go on.” Zanza teased as he ran a finger down Toon’s jawline, sending shivers down the young Hylian’s body. “Shoot me.” he drew his face closer and closer to the edge of Toon’s weapon but still Toon refused, shutting his eyes and immediately lowering his weapon as Zanza smiled, wide and eyes open like large discs. “Pathetic. When you were by Shulk’s side, you were always the bravest little thing, weren’t you? Midget.” Zanza raised Replica ready to slice when Corrin reared back with a roar, sending Zanza tumbling off the dragon’s back in shock. Almost immediately as a follow-up, Corrin’s tail swung to the side, slamming Zanza right in the gut as the god was flung across the battlefield away from the group. Zanza gasped out and bit his lip. “Fuck. This mortal body still isn’t well suited for taking such heavy hits.” 

Toon rolled off Corrin’s back, breaths heavy and laboured, eyes hazy from the confrontation prior as Corrin lowered his head to Toon, a soft cooing noise as the dragon nudged its snout into the trembling sailor. Dark Pit and Pit drew themselves next to Toon and Corrin as Pit helped Toon back up onto his feet, only one half of the Palutena Bow in his mouth. Dark Pit pointed the sharp end of his Silver Bow at Zanza, crimson eyes focused on the golden god as he whispered to the others. “Seems like Mister ‘Know-it-All’ can’t seem to read Corrin’s movements.” Pit shot an eye at Dark Pit, curious to what the darker angel meant, only to be met with a snort. “Corrin hasn’t been with us for that long, and right now he is acting like a wild animal. It’s hard to read the thoughts of a wild animal.” Pit seemed to get the point and quickly hurried Toon back to his feet as Zanza drew Replica around him.

“I know what you are thinking, Pittooey.” Zanza sang as Replica began to glow green, his left eye flickering from mute gold to green in an instant as he raised his head up, lolling to the side with an unnatural smile. Dark Pit growled as he gripped his Silver Bow tighter. “No one… calls me Pittoo. Only Pit. You have no right to call me that!” Zanza chuckled, ignoring Dark Pit’s retort. “You think it's so simple. ‘We just have to protect Corrin and make him do the work while we play defense.’ I love your thinking, so simple, so cute. It brings me to tears at how foolish once can get. It doesn’t matter if your precious little dragon gets blinded now, doesn’t it?” Zanza drew back Replica as a bright green blade beam shot out from it in his swing. The aura of purge aimed straight for Corrin as Toon pushed Pit aside, leaping in front of the blade beam and getting knocked straight into the dragon’s chest. The dragon yelped as Toon slammed into its chest and fell to the ground with a thud. Pit yelled out in fear as he dashed over, Dark Pit snarling. “Zanza!” 

“Shame. I missed.” Zanza chuckled as Dark Pit took the opportunity to rush at the golden god, battle cries echoing as he slashed his Silver Bow at Zanza, the god merely taking a few steps back, wings fluttering as he dodged Dark Pit’s attacks with ease. “You are so predictable Pittooey.” Zanza teased as Dark Pit drew out his electroshock arm to try and sock Zanza in the face, only for the slow weapon to miss and Zanza drew up right behind Dark Pit, golden fingers cold to touch as he ran up Dark Pit’s shoulder blade. “Oh little Pittooey. You know that weapon is so slow. I have seen you use it before. You should think harder.” 

“Stop. Calling. Me. That!” Dark Pit yelled out as he twisted around to try and swipe at Zanza to no avail once more. Zanza once again reappeared in front of Dark Pit, left eye glowing red as he merely flicked Dark Pit in the forehead and the angel was sent tumbling across the battlefield, grinding in the dust until he landed right in front of Pit who had ensured Toon was alright, fortunately the sailor was safe from harm. Dark Pit coughed and gasped in pain as Pit quickly went to the aid of his darker twin. The sinister laughs of Zanza echoed out as the group shot him a look, “Look at you all. So weak and worthless. You should have taken up the offer to become my disciples. Then perhaps you won’t be writhing on the floor before me any longer. You could be with your good ol’ friend Shul-” 

Zanza sucked in his words as he flicked his eyes to his left, immediately muttering a few curse words that Pit knew should never grace Shulk’s lips and brought up Replica, a bright yellow glow surrounding his body as Corrin slammed his horns into Zanza. Zanza held up Replica, pushing back against Corrin, Shield art helping him hold his ground against the dragon as he smirked and immediately his eye glowed purple, the purple blade flung out, tipping the dragon over as the beast crashed onto the earth. “Corrin!” Pit cried out as Zanza suddenly leaped out at Pit. Pit grabbed his one half of the Palutena Bow and instantly blades clashed, sparks flew as Pit struggled to hold Zanza back. 

“Oh little Pit.” Zanza cooed into Pit’s ear, hot and sticky. “You were always so optimistic, so brave. You believed in everyone and motivated them so hard. But it's hard… isn’t it? With only one eye and only one arm.” Pit grit his teeth and continued to push back but Zanza’s smile widened as the purple flaring in the blade began to grow brighter and brighter, pushing Pit down as the angel’s knees buckled below him. “You just have to say one word. Be my disciple and I can fix everything for you. I can bring back your goddess. I can give you back what you lost. I am a god after all. And once this world belongs to me, I can grant you everything.” 

“You lie.” And Zanza blinked as Pit bit his lip, pushing harder and harder against Zanza’s pressure as the purple aura began to flicker and die out. “You don’t intend to do any of that. You are selfish, as selfish as a god can be!” Pit hissed out and suddenly another silver blade came from behind to back up Pit as Dark Pit helped to push back Pit. “Well said, Pit-stain.” Dark Pit smirked as Toon’s tiny body raced up behind them, using the angel’s as a launch pad and started to rain down a volley of arrows on Zanza. 

With a hiss and a flicker of blue in his eye, Zanza released the pressure against the angels, drawing Replica to his side as he sidestepped, dodging and weaving through the rain of arrows before spreading his wings out, a shockwave manifesting to throw the group a bit off balance. “Again and again.” He snarled out, golden lines flaring and glitching much like it did when Shulk was still with the group. “I offer you countless opportunities and you still reject me? You do not deserve to be by my side.” 

“Say that when you are gone!” Dark Pit roared out as he launched himself at Zanza. Zanza didn’t say a word as his left eye flickered white, an unknown symbol the group was unfamiliar with reflecting in the eye as Replica’s blade flushed white, growing larger and longer as white ether energy swirled around it like a vortex. With a smirk, Zanza raised the blade into the air and a giant wave of ether energy, white hot surged from the ground. The cries of the group echoing out, agonized screams in the air as the white ether energy sparked, crushed and shocked them. The shockwaves of pain and suffering seemed to go on for an eternity until it slowly died out, the group falling to the ground with a large thud as Zanza sighed. 

Zanza observed their unmoving bodies in the wasteland before him as he flapped his golden wings, lifting himself high above the ground. He moved his glowing golden palms in front of him as ether energy began to collect into a small condensed golden sphere, growing larger and larger in his palms. His eyes narrowed and quickly brought up Replica in his free hand as the distant sound of chain rattling filled the air. Bursting out from the rubble, a loud roar reverberating across space as a silver rising comet slammed its horns into Zanza once more, chains binding its forelimbs rattling as it let out guttural snarls, drool dripping from its maw as it screeched and cried out. Zanza noted in dull amusement at how the dragon was still able to fight back, its scales were shedding in multiple places, exposing the soft vulnerable skin under the thick armoured hide, bruises littering its entire body painting it black and blue, holes in its wings and even an impressive gash on its tail. 

Zanza was impressed as he smiled at the snarling dragon. “A little too late, reptile.” Zanza hummed as he held the ether energy sphere in his palm and aimed it at the group lying unconscious on the ground. “Say goodbye to your friends. I will send you their regards when I return their bodies to the Bionis. Won’t that be splendid, Corrin?” The dragon growled and hissed as Zanza rolled his eyes. “Talking to an animal is useless. Just enjoy the show.” As the ball of light left Zanza’s fingers, words leaving the god’s lips, loud and cruel. “DIE!”

Corrin’s head began to hurt.

* * *

The silence that strung itself between Dragon and Man continued to perpetuate itself as they both continued to stare at each other, unmoving, not muttering a word. Tension thick in the air until the dragon seemed to lift its head, a smirk decorating its jaws, “Just give it up, you will never be the one to save them. You are right in front of Zanza right now.” The dragon drawled as he slithered up next to Corrin, its tail jingling the chains wrapped around Corrin’s wrists. “If you just sink your claws right into his chest, you will win. You will knock him out and you will be safe.” 

Corrin tensed as the Dragon’s claws dug into his skin, drawing blood that trickled down his skin, staining Shulk’s clothes with a dull red colour. Squeezing his eyes shut and looking away, Corrin whispered, raspy and shaky, “But then Toon, Pit and Dark Pit… they will… they will-” The Dragon let out a snort. “They will die but at the cost of saving the world. It's a fair trade.” The Dragon cooed into Corrin’s ears. Corrin wrestled himself away from the dragon, chains rattling as he fell back, landing on his knees with a muffled cry. “Th-that’s not right! We can’t just leave them to die there!” The Dragon slammed its claws on Corrin’s chest, forcing him onto the ground as the Dragon towered above him, radiating strength and confidence. “Then what will you do?” 

Corrin bit his lip, shutting his eyes and turning away from the Dragon, breaths slow and shaky. “I don’t know… I want to save them but Zanza is-” The Dragon roared, its cries echoing around him, loud and made Corrin shiver in fear, curling up on the floor, making himself smaller and smaller in comparison to the looming, colossal figure of the Dragon. “See? This is why you should just leave everything to me. If you cannot decide, I will decide for you and I have decided to brute force our way to victory. Your friends are just collateral damage for the sake of victory.” The Dragon drew itself closer to Corrin’s ears. “You have no qualms about that right?” 

Corrin shivered, bringing his hands over his head as he brought it closer to his chest, breathing raspy as he gasped for just a smidge of calm. “I have qualms… I-I don’t want my friends to- to die.” Corrin breathed out as he suddenly felt sharp claws around his neck, heavy weight on his chest. The Dragon breathed down his neck, its words dripping with threats, “and you still don’t know what to do?” Corrin froze and coughed out, gasping for air as the Dragon pressured further and further into his chest, forcing the air out of him. “Come on. Just sleep already, leave it all to me. I already made a decision. And you haven’t! You are just holding us back. Just running away.”

_“You just have been thinking a little bit too much about yourself and running away a little too much. If you face your challenge with confidence, then perhaps you would see the world around you better.”_

Dunban’s words resonated in Corrin’s head and Corrin slowly wrenched his eyes open to stare at the Dragon’s jaws dripping with drool and fangs curved back menacingly. It was scary, staring into this feral beast, alone in the dark but Corrin bit his lip and stared past the Dragon. Face your challenge with confidence, Corrin repeated to himself as he let his eyes observe the Dragon standing above him, seeing how its belly was exposed to him. Just be confident in your decision, it’s your friends’ lives, it's your future. “I have decided.” Corrin choked out as he slowly squirmed under the Dragon’s suffocating grip, the Dragon leaned into Corrin rattling the chains around Corrin’s wrists as he drew in closer, mocking. “Oh? Now you wish to lie to me?” 

“No… I don’t lie. I have chosen to save my friends and hit Zanza at the same time.” Corrin squeaked out as the Dragon reared its head back, in a hearty laughter roaring from its jaws. “Oh you crack me up Corrin. Enlighten me, how do you plan on doing so?” Corrin seized the strength in his body as he took in a deep breath. “Like this!” 

With a swift kick, Corrin rammed his knee right into the Dragon’s underbelly, the Dragon howled out in pain, rolling over to the side and coughing and gasping in pain as Corrin stumbled to his feet. “You…” The Dragon hissed out. Corrin shook his head. “I know… I can never decide. I have always been afraid of deciding, that if I chose one, then the other would fall.” Corrin turned to face the Dragon a warm smile upon his face. “Thank you for teaching me how to choose. Dragon.” He then lowered his head, “And you Dunban.” The Dragon’s voice was dry and sore as it struggled onto its feet, tripping and falling onto the ground. “So what?” It hissed out. “So what if you finally decided this one time? How can you be so sure you will decide the next time?” 

Corrin shook his head. “I don’t know, but… as long as I know what I want. I am sure I can make that decision when it comes.” Reaching to his wrists, Corrin slowly began to unwind the blue chains that rubbed painfully against his wrists, one by one the coils loosened until the whole heavy chain fell to the ground with a loud clatter. “Because right now, my decision is to save my friends. All of them.” Corrin smiled warmly as the dark cave melted away. “Then maybe, just maybe I can go back to Hoshido and Nohr and choose them both, make them understand, so that they won’t have to fight any longer.” Shutting his eyes and taking a breath, Corrin re-opened them to a crimson colour, its natural colour and the Dragon behind him seemed to melt away, becoming nothing but water that flowed through a river next to the grassy hills he laid his eyes upon. Corrin took a breath, crimson eyes shining with a glint of confidence, one that wasn’t there before. “That is my decision to make, and mine alone.”

* * *

“DIE!” Zanza cackled out as the ball of light left his fingers, aimed towards the unconscious bodies on the battlefield below him. Almost as soon as the words left the God’s lips, the pressure he felt on Replica disappeared and his eyes darted back to Corrin, Corrin’s horns reared back as the Dragon ducked its head, neck shrinking into itself as scales disappeared, melting into soft human skin as bright crimson eyes bore deep into Zanza’s golden eyes. With a swift kick, Corrin’s foot slammed right into Zanza’s gut, forcing the air out of the god’s lungs as Corrin pushed harder and harder into the kick. 

With a roar, laced with human emotions and human grunts, Corrin pushed himself off Zanza, using Zanza as a glorified launch pad before springing towards the ball of light ether energy. Another cry as Corrin raced past the ether sphere, wings tucked tight behind him and tail trailing behind him as he dove towards the surface. Corrin’s hands pulled apart, the sound of chains shattering echoed across the now silent battlefield as Corrin reached his hands out, the trails of blue chain shards following his flight path towards the ground. With another grunt, Corrin spread his wings wide open just before he hit the ground, catching himself on the updraft as he gathered the unconscious bodies of his friends in his arms with one swift motion before he flapped his wings hard once more, just as the ether energy sphere crashed into the ground. 

The resounding impact was soundless but the force it created was immense as Corrin strained to keep himself on his flight path, up and away from the growing explosion. His body was heavy, the unconscious bodies of his friends in his arms were weighing him down and he could feel his wings screaming in agony from the overuse. Yet he forced his wings to move, flapping them harder and harder as he rose higher and higher into the sky. He had to save them. He just had to. He had decided he wanted to save them. Save them all. 

With another cry, Corrin managed to outpace the growing explosion just in time, his wings were tired, strained and aching but he continued to keep himself airborne, wheezing with a big smile of relief. Lowering himself to the ground, Corrin didn’t have the time to look for Zanza, instead focusing on his friends. He ran his fingers, whilst being careful of his sharp fingernails, over his friend's faces, his thoughts calling out to them and their minds until they began to stir. When Pit finally opened his eyes, Corrin felt the world of relief crash upon him and his aching wings. 

“C-Corrin?” Pit gasped and coughed out as Corrin nodded fervently, his tail wagging uncontrollably behind him. “You-You came back…” Corrin smiled, ‘Yeah… it's good to be back.’ Pit’s eye moved to Corrin’s wrist where the chains were no longer present, but still left horrible abrasions on Corrin’s skin, red, raw and sore. “Your chains-” Corrin shook his head, interrupting Pit as he stood up, eyes were red, bright red that reminded Pit of Dark Pit’s own eyes. Eyes full of confidence. ‘I don’t need them anymore. I… I have made my choice.’ Pit looked up at Corrin, a sparkle of happiness in his blue eye as he pulled Corrin in for a hug, tears spilling from the angel’s eyes. “Thank Lady Palutena you are back. Thank the goddesses.” Pit sobbed out. Corrin relaxed in Pit’s embrace, tail wagging behind him slowly until a cough broke their silence. Dark Pit eyed Corrin with a sour sharp look and Corrin immediately released himself from Pit’s embrace just as Toon leaped onto his back, face painted with a wide smile as the little Hylian played with Corrin’s horns.

“Insolent, worthless mortals. Wretched fools, the lot of you.” The cold voice, bitterness laced across each syllable as Zanza drew himself out of the rubble, bruises scattering Shulk’s body which still glowed with a sickening golden colour. Golden eyes narrow and fierce as Zanza reared his head up, fury written all over his face as he stabbed Replica into the ground to keep himself standing, wings battered behind him from the crash after Corrin used him as a glorified launching pad. The group tensed up, drawing their weapons and pointing their claws at Zanza as he drew himself back up, teeth grit and fury manifesting itself in golden light that spilled out from him. 

Corrin lowered himself to the ground, thoughts ringing high and true in the minds of his friends. ‘Listen to my voice.’ Corrin echoed out to their hearts, his tail slinking back to take Shulk’s bag from Dark Pit gently. ‘I need you guys to distract him for as long as you can.’ Dark Pit hesitated giving the bag to Corrin but Pit stopped his darker twin. “Do you have a plan, Corrin?” Pit raised an eye at the half-dragon blood and Corrin nodded his head gingerly as Zanza began to walk slowly towards them, Replica’s blade dragging along the ground creating a loud screeching noise as it did. ‘I know what to do. It is something only I can do. Reyn, Dunban and Riki told me to believe in myself and my own strength and I…’ 

Corrin turned to smile at the group, wide and toothy with his fangs that lined his jaws. ‘I want to use that strength and power in the right way. To help you.’ Pit smiled and elbowed Dark Pit who groaned and relented, relinquishing the bag to Corrin who fumbled with its contents for a moment. As soon as the bag was handed over Dark Pit took a breath, “How long do you need?” Corrin paused and his wings folded behind his back. ‘Allow me 15 seconds.’

“Consider it done.” Dark Pit smirked as he immediately launched himself at Zanza, the God brought up Replica and parried Dark Pit rushdown with the Silver Bow, sparks flying as hits were exchanged in a flurry of weapons. An arrow soared through the air barely missing Zanza but distracting him enough for Pit to rush in to grab the fallen half of his golden bow, reforming it into a whole Palutena Bow once more and push Zanza back with the blunt edge. “Fucking, worthless pests!” He screamed out, lifting Replica and attempting to slice Pit in half.

A small shrill cry as a small green body tackled him with their shield, Toon throwing his tiny body into Zanza’s chest as the god stumbled back from the weight, gasping in pain as he grit his teeth, left eye fading into a dark grey as Replica’s beam blade began to cover itself in a black colour, malice leaking out from the black ether energy as Zanza pointed it at the group. With a cry, Dark Pit swiped his Silver bow at Zanza’s weapon, knocking the weapon right out of Zanza’s hand before Pit and Toon pushed Zanza off. Grinding his feet into the ground, Zanza caught himself from falling, eyes narrow with fury as he waved his hand, glowing an extremely bright gold colour. Replica shot out from the ground and right back into his hands as Zanza hissed out in pain that stemmed from the bruises in his chest. 

Toon drew back an arrow, pointing it at Zanza and Pit and Dark Pit stood in front of the young Hylian with their weapons drawn. Zanza choked out a bitter laugh, raw and dry. “Pointing your weapons at me means nothing.” He drawled out, raspy and cold. “You won’t even hurt me more than a few bruises. Go on… just say you had about enough.” Zanza smiled as he drew Replica in front of him, the blade bursting out with a pale blue colour. The group in front of Zanza breathed heavily, each breath they took was laboured and slow, their bodies were more beaten up than Zanza’s as they backed away a little more as Zanza drew in closer and closer. “Just give it up already.” Zanza growled out. “If you go on your knees and just beg for my forgiveness, I might show you some mercy.” 

“Never!” Pit and Dark Pit growled out in unison as Zanza’s smile immediately twisted itself into a scowl as he lifted Replica high above his head, “Then you shall be seeing your precious friend, Shulk very soon-” Zanza’s words were interrupted by a sudden cry of pain as Zanza dropped Replica, the blade clattering to the floor as the god clutched at his head, golden lines flashing erratically as Zanza stifled back a hiss, stumbling backwards, clutching and shaking his head. Breaths stunted and his movements slowed and confused, digging his nails into his head, the golden light around him was waning as Zanza squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Pit, Dark Pit and Toon looked between each other before turning their head back to Corrin. 

Corrin was on all fours, claws digging deep into the ground and his fangs biting hard into his lip drawing blood as he focused his crimson gaze sharp and focused upon Zanza. Floating around Corrin supplying him with energy and a faint coat of light were 6 spirit orbs. “Get out of my head you insufferable fucking reptile!” Zanza screamed out rushing out towards Corrin in attempts to knock the dragon-human out of his state of concentration only to be tackled to the side by Pit, Dark Pit and Toon, all three of them throwing their weights onto Zanza to keep him from getting to Corrin. “We won’t let you get to him!” Dark Pit growled out as they one again exchanged blows. 

Corrin numbly kept his gaze upon Zanza, eyes focused and unblinking as he allowed his thoughts to pierce through the space before him. He couldn’t hear a thing, nor did he notice the fighting around him as he kept his focus upon Zanza, allowing his thoughts to pierce through and intrude deeper and deeper into Zanza’s mind. Everything around him fell silent and he could only hear his breathing echoing around him, his tail swaying behind him warily, wings pressed against his back and his heavy horns that weighed his head down. He pushed his thoughts deeper and deeper, aimed at Zanza over and over again, calling out for a name, the name of the one he needed to save.

“Reach him. Call out to him. We are here with you and for him.” A calm voice called out to Corrin as Corrin found his own thoughts sinking deeper and deeper into a void of space, stars twinkling around him, massive planets that floated in endless horizons of space and the soft sobbing of a lost child echoing in his ears as he dove deeper and deeper into this consciousness locked behind Zanza’s control. Corrin reached out towards the space, claws outstretched as he called for a name. Surrounding him as they sank deeper were six spirits, their soft eyes filled with kindness and courage accompanying him deeper and deeper as they all searched for the one who was lost in the eternal prison of space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't expect Corrin development. I have to give all the boys at least some screen time Zanza damnit!
> 
> Also here is a note for Ryss:  
Ryss for the love of Meyneth, please get a better sleep schedule. Staying up for StLD ain't worth it.


	26. True Heir to the Monado

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the wait. I hope this 8K word chapter is good enough for you all. QwQ

### Chapter 26: True Heir to the Monado

Sparks flew as blows were exchanged, Dark Pit and Pit working together to keep Zanza off and away from Corrin whose thoughts seemed to have fleeted his body even though kept his ground, steady on all fours and blank eyes locked onto Zanza, following the golden god numbly despite looking like he wasn’t really there. Another arrow whizzed by Zanza’s head, forcing the golden god to avoid the barrage of arrows and the oncoming boomerang while parrying and fending off Pit and Dark Pit in an attempt to strike down Corrin. Yet the angels and the small Hylian didn’t drop their defensive position around Corrin, striving to protect the dragon-human till the very end. 

“Fucking pests!” Zanza growled out swiping Replica’s blade at Dark Pit jumped out of the way just in time as Pit rushed in, switching his Palutena Bow for his Upperdash Arm and socking Zanza right in the gut albeit with less force on purpose. Zanza was pushed back as he snarled in anger as the angels regrouped with Toon between Zanza and Corrin. “I will kill you all! I will make sure you suffer in the afterlife and ensure your death is as painful as possible!” He threatened out, bitter and raw with a bark. Zanza shook his head, battling the aching pains stemming from the depths of his mind. 

“And then I will bask in the euphoria that shall course through this mortal vessel body of your dear friend Shulk, relishing in your deaths!” Zanza roared out, the group immediately tensed up, weapons at the ready. And then… their grip on their weapons relaxed almost as suddenly as they had drawn their weapons before. Zanza watched the group before him freeze, well specifically Pit and Toon, his mind starting to ache from trying to keep Corrin out of his mind. Dark Pit seemed to smirk as the darker angel stepped forward, swinging his Silver bow over his shoulder. The dark ange’s skin was covered in cuts and bruises, wings shedding and blood staining the bandage over his right eye. “Oh yeah?” Dark Pit hummed out with a smile. “If you are so ecstatic and excited to kill us… Then why are you crying?” 

Zanza flinched back as he slowly lifted his shining golden fingers to his face, touching and feeling a warm liquid that flowed from his eyes uncontrollably. It fell onto his lips as the god licked at it, shocked at its salty tang. The tears didn’t stop and Zanza couldn’t stop it, eyes widening and lips curling into a snarl. 

“I know you are in there fucking nerd!” Dark Pit yelled out at Zanza, pointing the sharp end of his Silver Bow right at Zanza who began to clutch his head in pain while trying to stop the tears that flowed like a torrential waterfall from his eyes. “While you were busy sleeping and messing around letting that dumb bitch of a god control your body, We have been getting stronger and even managed to meet your friends before you got to reunite with them!” Dark Pit let his lips curl into a smirk. “So hurry up and knock that bitchass fucker out of your body already!” Zanza clutched his head. “Shut…”

“Shulk!” Pit cried out as he swapped his Upperdash Arm for his Palutena Bow in a swift motion. “I met Fiora you know! She even taught me how to make a new soup recipe! I want to share the wonders of cooking with you! I want to spend more time enjoying different cuisines with you and everyone! I want to get to know you better! So come back to us!” Pit breathed in deeply and a warm smile etched upon his face as a single tear ran down his cheek, the bandage on his left side damp with tears and blood. “Please… we all miss you.” Zanza began to growl as his grip around Replica tightened. “Shut up…”

Toon dropped his bow, pointing it towards the ground, eyes glistening with tears as he bit hard on his lips. Soft whimpering sounds made its way out of his throat, choked and raspy. One by one tears fell down the tiny Hylian’s cheek as he released the tension on his bow’s string. “Shulk… you helped me… I don’t want to lose you… I don’t want you to leave me… leave us.” Toon whispered out. “Please… let's go home together.” Zanza snapped his head up as he flung out Replica, lips quivering as his mutterings suddenly twisted and contorted into a loud screech with an holy pitch. 

“Shut up… Shut up. Shut Up. SHUT UP!” 

As the blade flew forward and they all clashed once more. Tears flung across the battlefield along with the blood and sweat. Cries, howls and yells of pain, desperation and hope filling the air as they battled on and on. Waiting for that moment of eternity.

* * *

Space stretched out endlessly beyond him, the distant sounds of swords and blades clashing with each other had long become nothing but a buzzing noise at the back of his mind, something he could easily ignore now. Shulk no longer had the energy to even sit up straight, as he lay flat on the solid resistance beneath him, chains rattling by his ear, uncomfortable and alien. The dead lines on his skin were still a disgusting reminder, even when he was so alone in the depths of the Passage of Fate, he was still reminded of Zanza, he himself was a walking reminder. His breaths were slow and heavy, he didn’t understand why he still tried to breathe… why he was still desperately clinging onto the life he knew would not matter. Zanza had won. Zanza had his body now. 

There was nothing he could do now.

The buzzing noise was a little louder now but Shulk shook it off. He curled up tighter on himself, bringing the chains closer to his chest as he whimpered at the slight electric shock that surged through his body. But at this moment he couldn’t be bothered anymore. He felt so empty, disposed and just tired. His fingers weak and shaking reached to his arms, digging blunt fingernails into the muscles once more, scratching and pulling at the lines once more. Blood leaked from his still recovering arm, sore, red and raw from the constant abuse he forced upon himself. Shiny red blood dripped down his arm, forming a puddle around him, crimson and sticky. It stained his clothes but once again, Shulk could not care. 

Numbly his arms dropped by his side once more as he lay there unmoving, blood pouring from his reopened wounds around him as he lay there, blinking hazily at the stars that stretched out into the boundless reaches of space. His lips heavy, eyes languid and weighted down as he blinked slowly, once again resigning himself to the depths of the Passage of Fate. He could still hear the buzzing noise, it was ringing in his ear now… odd… was it ever this loud? 

Shulk pushed himself back up much to the dismay of his aching muscles and bleeding arms, raising his hand to his ear as he listened intently to the noise. Ignoring the rattling of chains by his ears, Shulk breathed in slowly and deeply as he listened once more. It was a different buzzing noise, it sounds soft and warm. He furrowed his brow and strained his dulled senses to try and pinpoint the noise, to figure out what it was. 

It started soft… like a hushed whisper in the stale air around him. “Sh-... Sh-...” the air was dry with that noise, something that stung his arms, injuries and cuts exposed to this dry air. The noise drew itself closer and closer, becoming clearer and clearer as time seemed to tick by without abandon in this empty space. “Shulk…” The noise was calling out to him and Shulk instinctively flinched back. Was it Zanza who was calling out to him? 

He quickly curled up on himself, chiding himself for having any shred of hope in the first place. There was no one else who could enter this space but Zanza, he should have known that from the start. He mentally begged for Zanza to stay far away from him, but he could hear his name get louder and louder. He curled further into himself, hissing softly at the injuries that began to flare up with pain once more, pleading internally for Zanza to just leave him alone. His lips were dry and cracked, his voice raw and choked, yet his fear of being punished by Zanza kept him from vocalizing his screaming thoughts. 

Until a warm hand touched his injured arm. At first Shulk flinched, hissing in pain from the pain that shot up his body stemming from the injuries on his arm, but suddenly a warm hand held him in a hug, soft… and familiar. “Shulk…” The voice spoke out, gentle and kind, the soft voice of a woman… not Zanza. “What happened to your arms?” Shulk blinked and slowly uncurled himself as he lifted his gaze towards the voice. Her warm hands cupped around his face, running her gentle fingers along the lines on his cheek with a sad look on her face. “Look at you…” She choked out, suppressing her tears as she brushed away his tears for him. “All so beaten up… Did Zanza do this to you?” 

Shulk’s body seized and he lowered his gaze away from Sharla, his lips quivering and his heart held in a tight grip. He didn’t want to look at Sharla, to tell her that it wasn’t Zanza. He feared her reaction. Yet, Sharla continued to run her fingers along with injuries, Shulk flinching with each sting of pain that ran up his body but Sharla hushed him with a soft thrill of her lips. “Let me treat it for you.” She whispered to him softly as she settled him down comfortably on the solid resistance. Shulk trembled and reached out for her as Sharla stood up. Don’t leave me! Shulk wanted to cry out but his voice was stuck in his throat, lost from the disuse. Sharla looked back at him with soft eyes, “Don’t worry. I am not going anywhere.” 

Reaching behind her, Sharla took out her rifle and readied her shot, pointing it towards the air and shot a bullet that flew into the sky that soon burst into a mist of blue ether energy that surrounded them. The ether glistened in the stale air around them and Shulk took in a deep breath, the air was more bearable to breathe now, filled with energy and a bit more moisture that was a pleasant surprise for his lungs. Shulk visibly relaxed as the ether settled on his arms, adsorbing into his injuries and healing them slowly as the redness slowly faded away. His skin would not regrow back so quickly but the majority of the sore spots had been healed. Sharla bent down once more, chucking her rifle aside as she held Shulk’s hands in her own. Shulk pulled himself up to look into her eyes, a sweet brown colour, with his shaky turquoise ones and watched Sharla’s lips smile for him. 

“You don’t have to be so hard on yourself Shulk.” Sharla breathed out as she released his hands to move over to his ankles, her fingers moving along the mechanism of the metal ring on his left ankle. Shulk made a muffled cry when he saw her move and Sharla’s heart seemed to break. Shulk was like a child wishing and desperate for kindness and love in front of her. Her eyes gazed to his scabbing fingers and she sighed, sad, but then mustered a brave face. “If you ever get hurt, I will be here to patch you up. So you don’t have to hurt yourself anymore. When you come home, we will find a way to heal you okay? Don’t be scared.” She whispered to him, running her gentle fingers down the side of his face. Shulk’s quivering eyes broke her heart but she continued to smile for him as she worked on the mechanism around his left ankle, soon after a few moments of silence, the metal ring popped off Shulk’s ankles. Shulk reached for his now free ankle but hissed at the raw skin that was rubbed off by the metal ring. Sharla huffed at the saddening injury and moved over to get her rifle.

Shulk’s mouth opened once more, voice lost trying to tell her not to leave. A tear fell down his cheek only for something soft to wipe it away for him. Shulk tore his eyes away from Sharla for a moment and found himself face first in a giant ball of soft fur. Shulk took a moment to breathe through the fur, warm and smelling of a tropical forest, and it elicited a choked sob from Shulk. It was the smell of Makna Forest. Something silky and smooth lifted his face away from the fur and Shulk found himself staring into Riki’s wide eyes. “Heropon Riki find Shulk!” Riki chirped out with a wide smile as he bounced up and down in front of Shulk. He then suddenly hushed himself when he saw Shulk staring blankly at him and Riki allowed Shulk to smother his face in his fur. 

Shulk’s body visibly relaxed as he breathed in the warm and musty smell of Makna Forest on Riki’s fur. The memories of his adventures with his friends flooding his mind like a rushing wave and Shulk began to sob once more, reaching his aching arms around Riki and hugging the Nopon close to his chest. He breathed deeply into Riki’s fur, the smells of the many places he explored with his friends filled his senses. Makna Forest, Eryth Sea, Alcamoth and so many more. “Do Shulk remember now?” Riki’s voice cut through Shulk’s reminiscing as Shulk raised his gaze to look at Riki once more, the Nopon still wore a bright smile upon his face. “Shulk cannot forget Heropon Riki! Oooh… Riki know that Shulk is very ouchy-ouch right now, but Shulk cannot forget that everyone here!” Riki let Shulk’s face be stuffed into his fur once more. 

“This time special! Riki let Shulk pet him and hug him all he like! But Shulk cannot stay here forever, Shulk must come out of here! That will be Riki’s payment.” Shulk wanted to laugh at Riki’s statement but he couldn’t find the voice nor the energy in him to smile, instead he nodded, rubbing his face into Riki’s fur, allowing himself to immerse in the smells of his home. Riki stayed still for him, caressing Shulk’s head slowly while singing odd Nopon songs to him. When Shulk looked up expectantly at Riki about the songs, Riki smiled with a toothy grin. “Shulk like Riki’s songs? Riki sing this to little-pon all the time! Oka will sometimes sing to little-pon too!” Riki wiped away another tear that cascaded from Shulk’s eyes with a chuckle. “Riki is Shulk’s Daddy-pon, so Riki will sing songs for Shulk too!” 

Riki’s lullaby albeit weird, continued to echo around Shulk, coaxing the young heir to relax and melt in Riki’s fur. Another burst of ether mist filled the air, collecting and surrounding Shulk to heal his sore left ankle, as Sharla bent over to inspect the ankle, Riki continued to sing and distract Shulk from the pain that spread through his body, allowing Sharla to slowly wrap bandages around his ankle and his scabbing arms. After the song came to an end, Riki released Shulk to allow the Homs to breathe as Riki rolled over to Shulk's right ankle. “Shulk never forget. Shulk never forget the time he spend with friends! Riki will continue to sing for Shulk until Shulk go to bed happy-happy. Shulk is just a little-pon, so Shulk have lots of memories ahead. Shulk cannot forget so easy!” The shackle on his right ankle snapped and dissipated into ether particles blown in the wind. Easing up into Shulk’s arms, Riki settled himself in Shulk’s arms as Shulk hugged the Nopon tight with tears rolling down his face slowly as Sharla began work on his right ankle. 

From the edge of his blurry tear-filled vision, Shulk saw someone walk up to him. “Shulk.” That voice, stern and calm, it seemed to make Shulk relax his tensed shoulders as he raised his eyes to meet his mentor. Dunban slowly kneeled down to Shulk’s level as Riki seemed to squirm and smile back at Dunban. “Dun-dun!” Riki called out as Dunban nodded. Dunban, I… Shulk wanted to say but his voice… it still wasn’t with him. Dunban held a warm, strong hand on Shulk’s shoulders, firm and confident. “Shulk.” He called his name once again. “Where is your conviction?” Shulk blinked rapidly at Dunban, both in confusion and to wash the tears from his eyes. 

Reading the look in Shulk’s eyes, Dunban sighed and a serious look painted itself upon the older Hom’s face, one that Shulk was used to seeing. “What happened to the brave and determined Shulk I saw back at Colony 9?” Dunban posed the query to Shulk, stern and serious as Shulk looked at him blankly, mouth moving slowly but no words coming out. “Did you lose everything you knew? Did you just lose yourself like that?” Shulk bit his lip and looked away for a moment before shaking his head and Dunban’s hand on his shoulder squeezed him, making Shulk look back at Dunban. “Do you want to give up just like that?” 

Shulk shook his head again, biting hard on his lip as he looked at Dunban’s eyes that shone with a confidence unlike Shulk’s own. “I know you are afraid Shulk.” Dunban read Shulk like a book as the older Homs began to stand up in front of Shulk. “But this is no time to lie down and let everything just happen as it is now. You treasure your friends don’t you? So why do you lie here? Shouldn’t you be trying to get back to them?” Shulk shook his head fervently. I have tried Dunban! I have tried so many times… I- “And you just think that you can give up here, because you tried so many times?” Shulk froze at Dunban’s words as his mentor turned to face Shulk once more, a slight smile on his normally strict face. 

“True strength comes from within Shulk. The strength to not give up, to harden your conviction and work towards your goal. It does not matter how many times you fall, if you know what is right, you should fight for it, over and over again without hesitation.” Dunban kneeled back down in front of Shulk, his left hand moving to the shackles on Shulk’s right wrist, the tinkering sounds of metal unlocking itself and falling to the ground with a loud clatter echoing around them. “Wasn’t it the same for Fiora?” Shulk looked up at Dunban expectantly. “You would do anything to save her right? To get revenge for her? Use that conviction to save yourself and your friends from this battle. Save yourselves from Zanza.” Moving aside, Dunban allowed Sharla to bandage up Shulk’s sore wrist as he moved to Shulk’s side, sitting down and closing his eyes silently providing Shulk with company. 

Shulk squeezed Riki harder for a moment, silent and thinking about Dunban’s words when small, dainty hands cupped his own palms together. Her soft and gentle breaths, dignified as she kneeled in front of him, soft downy wings on her head flapping slowly as her eyes met with his, her teal eyes shining with a sort of determination into his own quivering turquoise eyes. Melia silently exchanged gazes with Shulk for a brief moment before she seemed to smile warmly, filling Shulk with a similar warm intensity. “I don’t think it's quite dignified for the Heir to the Monado to be sitting here, down in the dumps.” Melia’s words were frank and straight to the point and it stung Shulk a little, but her kind smile made Shulk look back at her, searching for meaning in her words. “Do you mean to say you wish to stay here forever? Didn’t Dunban tell you to go help your friends defeat Zanza?” 

Shulk nodded slowly as Melia moved her hands to the shackle on his left wrist, moving dainty fingers over the cold metal. “Then why do you still silently sit here? Are you so naive to think that you can just blissfully wait for them to come without you lifting a finger?” Shulk shook his head fervently, trying to talk but once again no sound came out. Melia frowned a little as she moved one hand away, “Summon Aqua.” A rush of ether around them, warm and familiar as a small sphere of water condensed and formed itself in Melia’s palms. Gesturing to her lips and then to Shulk, Shulk’s brain chugged taking a moment to process her gesture before he opened his mouth for her. Melia willed the elemental into Shulk’s mouth, filling his mouth with a cool liquid, refreshing his throat and Shulk felt a rush of ether energy inside his body, so much so the lines on his skin flickered for a brief second. 

“Tell me, Shulk.” Melia began once more as her hands returned to the shackles on his left wrist. “With your voice this time. Do you want to save them? Save everyone? Isn’t that your reason for setting out on this journey? Or are you still so stunned into silence that you can’t even tell me such a simple answer?” Shulk felt his tongue once more and for the first time in a long while, his voice materialized once more. “I want to save everyone… I want to save you guys too.” Shulk muttered out, voice still unfamiliar on his tongue but he spoke… he spoke! Melia nodded with a smile, warm and gentle as her fingers moved over the shackle. A few clicks and the metal fell off from Shulk’s sore wrist. Melia held his hands together once more, willing his eyes to meet her own. 

“Then reach out to them. Call their names and they will respond. Tell them you want to save them and that you want to be saved as well. You have a voice don’t you? Use it like it was meant to be used. To call out to your friends, communicate with them like you did with me.” Melia whispered to him with a slight chuckle and Shulk couldn’t help but return her statement with a weak chuckle himself. “You never change… Melia.” Melia blinked at him for a moment and a huff escaped her lips. “You think so? I am trying to be a little more casual on Sharla’s recommendation for you. I guess that didn’t matter much now did it?” A slight laugh from Sharla as she began to wrap up Shulk’s wrist. “I think you are doing quite fine Melia. Just keep working on it.” Melia nodded as she took a seat next to Shulk. “Yes. Quite. I am sure I will be able to achieve a good amount of ‘casual-ness’ soon.” A ripple of laughter echoed through the group, including Dunban. “I do not seem to comprehend the joke.” Melia huffed out. 

Shulk let his laughter die down slowly as he squirmed a little bit from the company of his comrades, their warmth seeping into him as they pressed themselves upon him. Shulk breathed in deeply into Riki’s fur, and then suddenly choked out a yelp as something slapped him in the back. Shulk let out a slight pained grunt but before he could turn around to see who it was, a large muscular arm wrapped itself around his neck, squeezing into his collar and making him choke a little and the arm quickly withdrew back. “Oh sorry, didn’t see that metal ring.” The young voice rang out as Melia sighed. “Honestly Reyn, couldn’t you have a bit more tack for the surroundings and for Shulk? You nearly choked him to death there.” A sputter of words escaped from Reyn’s lips as Shulk finally turned around to face his best friend, who was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Ah said I was sorry, didn’t I? Jeez…” Reyn sighed as he slowly lowered himself down to Shulk’s level. “What a’ ya doing here mulling about Shulk?” 

Shulk blinked at Reyn for a moment, taking a bit to gather his voice. “Reyn… I… I just…” Reyn huffed out as he grabbed Shulk’s shoulder with a firm grip. “Ah know what ya have to say, Shulk. I haven’t been best friends with ya for nothing all these years.” Reyn sighed and scratched the back of his head. “You were always like this, ya know? You always kept things to yerself, never told anyone. It's always the same timid Shulk I know from back at the Colony, I thought you wanted to change from this Shulk, to grow as a man?” Shulk blinked for a moment and lowered his head down. “Yeah.. perhaps I did…” Shulk began only to be cut off by Reyn’s wide smile as he drew Shulk in for a hug, forcing Riki out of Shulk’s arms. “Then what are ya still doing here?” 

Shulk froze and Reyn pulled away for a moment. “You said you wanted to go out there and save Fiora, to save our friends who were lost in the battle right? And now you are out in this world to help save it right?” Shulk nodded slowly, words slowly tumbling out of his lips. “Yeah.. I did…” Suddenly Reyn’s fingers flew to the collar around Shulk’s neck and with a grunt and pure brute force, the collar shattered and broke apart in Reyn’s hands. Shulk watched, eyes wide as the pieces of metal dissipated into ether and dusted away. He took in a deep breath, the deepest he could now that the heavy collar was gone and Reyn offered him a hand. “Then stand up Shulk. You can’t be letting this Zanza-dude run amok can ya? So stand up and fight already. Come on man!” 

Shulk looked between Reyn and his outstretched hand, his own fingers trembling as he slowly reached out, grey lines decorating his skin and fingers clasped by Reyn’s strong grip as Shulk was hauled onto his feet. Shulk felt his knees buckle under him from disuse but Melia and Dunban lent him their shoulders to support him to his feet. Shark finished the last treatment she could on Shulk’s sore neck and Shulk could see Riki bounce happily around his feet. Reyn smiled as he encouraged Shulk once more. “Come on Shulk. You can do it. You can stand up to this.” Shulk swallowed a lump and followed Reyn’s words, gathering the strength of his comrades into his legs, muscles twitching as they slowly held him up, supporting him as Shulk finally stood on his own. He blinked in awe when he felt how free and liberating it was. The chains, collars and shackles were gone, no longer weighing him down. Reyn ruffled Shulk’s hair before he pushed him forward with a strong slap on the back. “Go on now. She is waiting for ya.” 

“She?” Shulk breathed out as a figure ran past his side, his turquoise eyes flickering towards the figure as soft hands grabbed his and pulled him forward. Shulk stole a glance backwards to his comrades as they slowly disappeared into the depths of the Passage of Fate. Their waves and wide, warm smiles etching themselves into his heart as he parted ways with them, for now. He finally took the moment to look at the person who was guiding him along and his heart almost broke into pieces. 

A slight smile as she held his hands in hers, dragging and guiding him through the boundless horizons of space. “Did you miss me, Shulk?” Fiora chuckled out as Shulk allowed the tears to once again flow from his eyes, Fiora stopping to let him cry. “Fiora… Fiora… I missed you so much…” He sobbed and choked out as Fiora held her hand to his cheek, running her fingers along the dead grey lines that scarred his face. “Oh Shulk. This isn’t like you at all.” She chided as Shulk sucked in a breath and looked at her. Fiora smiled warmly as she caressed Shulk’s cheek with her finger, gentle and kind. “What happened to the Shulk I knew? The one who smiled with me at Outlook Park?” 

Fiora leaned into Shulk’s chest, breathing slowly as she listened to his still beating heart. “The Shulk I knew would chase after me relentlessly, trying to get me back. Where did that brave Shulk go?” Shulk lowered his arms to the side as he stood there deflated with Fiora. “I couldn’t… Zanza took everything from me… He hurt everyone… I can’t possibly-” “Smile?” Fiora hushed him, interrupting him mid-sentence. Shulk looked deep into shining green eyes as Fiora drew herself from Shulk to hold his hands in hers, cupping his shaking hands in her firm grip. “Do you mean you aren’t happy that all of us came for you?” Shulk shook his head, choking out his reply as he tripped over his words at points. “No-no! That’s not it at all.” Shulk gasped out as he lowered his gaze away from Fiora for a brief moment. “I am happy, I feel so happy and relieved that you all came for me. It's almost like a part of my heart has been restored. I… I missed you all so much. I-” 

Fiora held her fingers to his cheek once more, she smiled at him and he melted as well. Her green eyes shining, bright and confident, never wavering as she looked into Shulk’s turquoise eyes. “Then surely you can smile for us right?” Shulk held up his hand to her hand and leaned into her touch. It took a while but soon the edges of his lips twitched and soon once again, a smile formed itself upon his face. Warm, serene and soft. Fiora smiled back in turn as she leaned into Shulk’s chest again. “That’s the Shulk I know.” She smiled, relief laced in her voice before she drew herself from Shulk and quickly spun around to push his back. “Now, show them that smile. You miss them just as much as us right?” 

Shulk stumbled forward and turned around to look for Fiora but she was gone, her words echoing around him and he found himself alone once more. Well not for long. ‘Shulk…’ A familiar ring of a thought reverberating through Shulk’s mind as he turned himself to come face to face with the source of the voice. Bright crimson eyes bore straight into his and Shulk swore it was like looking into Dark Pit’s eyes, only less intense. Corrin’s wings folded tightly against his back and his tail wrapped in a tight coil around his legs as he stood before Shulk, head tilted as he looked at the visionary. ‘Shulk… I-’

Shulk let his shoulders fall and a breath left his lips heavy and laboured. “I didn’t think you would come… after all I had done, I didn’t think you would come to see me again.” Corrin sucked in a breath as he too looked crestfallen at Shulk’s words. ‘Did you think we wouldn’t forgive you?’ Shulk let out a weak chuckle, deflated in front of Corrin. “Yeah… After all I had done, I didn’t think you guys would see me as a friend, let alone try to rescue me or fight for me.” Corrin shook his head as he slowly walked up to Shulk and Shulk took a step back, Corrin noticing the gesture stopped his advancement, keeping an acceptable distance between himself and Shulk. ‘But that wasn’t you it was Zanza-’ 

“But Zanza is using my body! I let him use it! It's all my fault! It might as well be my fault!” Shulk cried out, tears rolling down the grey Monado lines, dead without a colour in them. “I lied to all of you! Betrayed the trust you poured into me! I don’t deserve your efforts… your forgiveness. I only hurt you… If you guys kill Zanza… I wouldn’t be opposed to me dying along with him too… After all…” Shulk lifted his face, eyes filled with tears falling down his cheek like a rushing waterfall, bleary eyes blinking into Corrin’s quivering crimson eyes. “It would be for the best wouldn’t it? Then Zanza’s wrath will come to an end, everyone will be safe.” 

‘No. You are wrong.’ Corrin’s thoughts rang through Shulk’s mind cutting through the haze and mess of thoughts that raced through Shulk’s brain. Shulk gingerly looked up at Corrin whose tail curled tighter and tighter around the half-blood’s leg. ‘You are wrong… No one will be safe… no one will be happy because we will have lost you.” Shulk looked up at Corrin, confusion written all over his face. ‘The Dragon that dwells within me also took control of my body and I went on a rampage. I hurt so many people around me, but you guys still extended your hand to me, forgave me for my moment of weakness and allowed me to recover from it. So I… I too wish to extend that hand to you.’ 

Corrin held his hand to Shulk, wrists red and raw from the prior abrasions where his chains once were. His fingernails, long and sharp, glittering like real dragon claws as Corrin smiled, his sharp and menacing fangs shining. ‘Zanza is not you. You are not Zanza. We all know that, so we all forgive you for it. We just want you to come back already. It’s not Zanza’s death we all desire, but you. To see you again. Toon, Pit, Dark Pit and myself, we all desire that.’ Shulk’s lips quivered as words tumbled out of his lips without control. “Corrin… I… But Zanza, how are we-” Corrin shook his head. ‘As long as you call out to us, we will figure out a way, I am sure. That’s what Dunban, Riki and Reyn told me.’ Shulk blinked and looked back at Corrin, shock plastered over his face. “You met them?” Corrin nodded his head with a slight smile. ‘In my dreams they spoke to me when I was lost and scared, trembling in fear of the dragon that dwells within me so…’ 

‘Promise me.’ Corrin’s thoughts rang out, true and clear as Shulk looked back up, eyes red and bloodshot as Corrin reached out and held Shulk’s hands in his. The abrasions that were scarred into Corrin’s wrists from the chains that were once there, the scars complementing the dead grey lines that scarred Shuk’s own skin. ‘That you will bring me to Colony 9… I have to thank everyone else after all. So please…’ Corrin raised his gaze to Shulk, bright eyes shining. ‘Promise me that you will walk again with us… Won’t you show us that smile once more? I know you will find your way out of this, we will all help you move on. Just like you helped all of us.’

‘Don’t be scared to reach out to us… to Toon, Pit, Dark Pit.” Corrin shook his head. “Not just them. Reyn, Dunban, Melia, Sharla, Riki and Fiora too.’ 

Shulk looked at Corrin for a moment, watching Corrin’s bright crimson eyes filled with a spark, confidence that looked new yet so relieving to him. They believed in him, all of them. They had come so far just for him, he realised that now. Coughing back another sob, Shulk returned the gesture, holding Corrin’s hands in his, feeling the sharp edges of Corrin’s claws in his palms. “Alright… I promise.”

He said, with a smile.

* * *

Toon let loose his boomerang straight at Zanza, the weapon whipping through the air and barely missing Zanza as the god ducked under it, grabbing Replica strongly in his left hand and swiped at Toon only to be tackled aside by Pit who made them both crash into the ground in a messy heap. “Why you, insolent!” Zanza raised Replica right above his head ready to bring his wrath down upon Pit when a dark figure flew in between them, Silver Bow intercepting Zanza’s swing while Pit was kicked aside. The clang of blades rang out, sharp and piercing as Dark Pit grit his teeth, trying his hardest to push Zanza back. A wide smirk twisted itself onto Zanza’s lips as he pushed harder into Dark Pit’s parry. “Is that all you’ve got?” He teased Dark Pit pushing harder and harder, causing Dark Pit’s knees to buckle under him. 

A hiss escaped from Dark Pit’s lips as he desperately tried to push Zanza back, his muscles heaving and screaming with agony but he couldn’t let up, he must not let up. Zanza pushed harder and harder into the clash and lowered his lips right next to Dark Pit’s ears once more. “Come on now Pittoey~” He sang, voice laced with honey-sweet mockery. “Just give it up already. There is no way a lowly being like you can stand up to a god.” Dark Pit refused to say a word, instead pushing harder against Zanza earning a scowl from the god as Zanza’s face contorted into that of fury. With a quick flick of his sword, Zanza disarmed the Silver Bow out of Dark Pit’s grip and sent the angel sprawling on the ground under him. “Then you will learn your place.” 

The blade of Replica extended out, large and long as a purple energy swirled around it, condensing it with power. Zanza roared as he swung the blade down and Dark Pit swung himself around, a swift motion as he reached into his bag and drew out his staff, but he was too slow, the blade was coming down fast and he couldn’t equip his Staff in time- “Pittoo!” Pit’s voice cut through as Pit jumped between Dark Pit and Zanza, flourishing his Palutena Bow in a quick swipe to divert Zanza’s swing into the ground just next to Dark Pit. Toon’s boomerang whipped through the air, socking Zanza right in the head, causing the God to stumble back as Pit then used his body to push Zanza away from Dark Pit.

A flurry of choked gasps escaped from Dark Pit, finally finding the opportunity to breathe again as Toon rushed up to the darker angel, offering a tiny hand as Dark Pit waved him off. “I’m fine.” Dark Pit insisted while equipping himself with his Dark Pit Staff, Toon frowned a bit when he read Dark Pit’s lips but didn’t chase it further. Pit was still struggling with Zanza when suddenly a resounding thud was heard from behind them. Dark Pit immediately whipped his head around to see Corrin collapsed on the ground, limbs sprawled out and the spirit orbs that floated next to the half-dragon before had fallen to the ground around him, their luster lost. Dark Pit quickly turned Toon around and Toon let out a strangled cry as the two rushed over to Corrin. Flipping Corrin over, Dark Pit placed his ear to his chest, relief coursed through his body when he could hear Corrin’s heartbeat. “He seems to be asleep.” Dark Pit signed to Toon who nodded fervently. 

A cry rang across the battlefield and a crash right next to Dark Pit and Toon as Pit was thrown into the ground haphazardly, groans echoing from the lighter angel’s lips as Pit struggled with the multitude of injuries that littered his body. Well to be fair, Pit wasn’t the only one with bad injuries, the entire group had sustained heavy injuries from the prolonged fight with Zanza. Said golden god slowly rose out of the rubble, Replica wielded in his left as the blade shot out, long and purple as Zanza’s hisses laced with bitterness and bark grated the air. “You worthless mortals… I will end you right here, right now!” Zanza leaped out at them, blade raised high as Dark Pit flung himself out in front of the group, staff raised in an attempt to try to stop Zanza’s swing when suddenly the God let out a choked gasp. 

Zanza stumbled back, clutching at his head as hisses of pain and agony stemmed itself from Zanza. The god’s knees shook and slowly backed away from the group, strangled gasps and guttural coughs from his throat as the group blinked at him, pure bewilderment all over their faces as they gathered themselves around Corrin to protect the dragon-boy. Suddenly Zanza stopped moving. The Golden god froze for a moment before his right hand began to move, lifting itself slowly and shakily towards the group, fingers trembling violently, his entire body heaving with heavy and laboured breaths. 

His gaze lifted up towards the group and immediately everyone stopped breathing for a second. Zanza’s right eye was not the sickening golden colour that mocked them over the course of the battle, but a kind… gentle turquoise colour. Zanza’s lips quivered, shaking as words began to spill out of his mouth, hands reaching out towards the group as large fat tears streamed from the turquoise right eye falling into those parted lips that struggled to form a smile. 

“H...H-Help… Me… S...S-Sa-Save me…. Please...” 

Almost immediately, the turquoise colour was flushed out, covered in an instant by a solid gold colour as Zanza snapped back into control. “Worthless, fucking pest of a vessel!” He roared out, “I am the one in charge of this body! You have no right to control this body anymore!” Zanza’s screeches directed at Shulk who was fighting in his mind rang out across the battlefield, that distraction was enough for Dark Pit. Shoving his satchel towards Pit, Dark Pit gave a snicker at Pit before he dashed out towards Zanza. “What’s wrong? A little inconvenience?” Dark Pit yelled out with a wide smirk as he swung the blunt end of the staff at Zanza. “Let me help you knock it out!” 

Zanza immediately backhanded Dark Pit with ease, sending the reckless dark angel straight into the rubble with a loud crash before he gripped Replica, knuckles turning white in the process. “All you fucking mortals, think you can stand in my way… This world is mine and MINE ONLY!” Zanza’s golden eyes ablaze with fury locked itself onto the fallen body of Corrin who was just beginning to come around and he launched himself at Corrin. “YOU ARE FIRST REPTILE!” Zanza screeched out ready to cut Corrin straight in half when a rattling of chains reverberated through the battlefield. A long line of chain wrapped around Zanza’s waist, coiling around his body and fastening tight around him. Zanza struggled to move his right hand that was now chained to his body when a small warm body wrapped itself around his waist and legs. 

“GET OFF!” Zanza roared out as Toon shook his head. “NO!” Came the shrill pitched cry from the young Hylian squeezed and hugged Zanza tighter, preventing the god from moving any further. “You won’t hurt anyone anymore!” Toon sobbed out, his words choked on tears and coughs as he tightened his grip around Zanza’s waist, drawing him closer into his hug. “I won’t let you… I won’t let you feel hurt any longer.” Toon wept, tears spilling from his red and swollen eyes. 

“WHY YOU!” Zanza raised Replica and prepared to swing it down on Toon when a strong grip wrapped itself around his arm, wrestling it to his side, preventing him from moving. Soft white feather stained with blood moved to smother Zanza’s face as Pit struggled against Zanza’s monstrous strength to keep him from swinging Replica around. “We aren’t going to let you hurt yourself or anyone any further! We… We just want the old Shulk back.” Pit sniffled as he continued to hold Zanza’s sword arm down. “We want the Shulk who smiles with us, stays by our sides. Brave and determined to help us… so we want to help him too. He isn’t alone. He is still here!” Zanza’s cries of fury rang out across the battlefield, struggling against their holds as Corrin’s tail slinked and held his legs together. 

‘No more… it's a promise…’ Corrin’s thoughts rang through the air as Zanza’s screeches echoed out, grating like fingernails across a chalkboard, “WHY ALL OF YOU INSOLENT FUCKING MORTALS-” 

**BANG!**

A choked gasp and Zanza lurched forward, blood streaming from the corners of his mouth as he stumbled forward, weak and shocked. Blood leaked out from a bullet wound right in his back, spluttering and dripping with bright red blood, sticky and smelling of metal. The eyes of Pit, Toon and Corrin shifted towards the rubble where smoke billowed from the barrel of a weapon held by the dark angel. “Bullseye.” Dark Pit smirked with a wide satisfied grin. Zanza coughed out a large amount of blood as he went limp immediately and fell into Corrin’s outstretched arms, eyes flickering from turquoise to golden in short spurts. “Ho-How can this be… I was… defeated by… m-mere fucking mortals…” Zanza cursed out, blood spilling even more from his mouth as his eyes closed and fell into Corrin’s arms, the golden wings and halo shattering into ether dust around him, falling to the ground like a mist. The lines that used to be golden spluttered and died… colour melting into a dark dead grey colour.

Before anyone could shout at Dark Pit, the darker angel struggled to his feet. “PIT-STAIN!” Dark Pit yelled out. “THE DRINK OF THE GODS!” Pit blinked but then nodded and immediately fumbled with Dark Pit’s bag that he was given just a bit back and pulled out the shining bottle of smooth pink liquid. Without hesitation, Pit dumped the whole contents of the bottle down Shulk’s throat, the liquid, smooth and creamy flowed smoothly down Shulk’s throat without resistance. The group held their breaths as they waited for the potion to work as Dark Pit finally dragged himself to their side. 

“Pittoo!” Pit seethed out at his darker twin with uncharacteristic rage. “How- How could you-” “Shut up Pit-stain.” Dark Pit growled out as he shoved his Staff at Pit, a shower of blue ether mist falling from the barrel and Pit looked up at his darker twin expectantly for answers, blue eye wide, searching. “I shot him with a water-based ether bullet. On Sharla’s recommendation. Granted it still did damage as you saw, but it does marginal amounts of healing when it hits so it patched up his internal organs before anything bad could rupture.” Pit stumbled back a little in shock and curled into a fist. “Still you didn’t have to…” Dark Pit shook his head. “It was the only way, or Zanza might never be put to sleep.” Pit bit his lip and turned away from Dark Pit. 

Silence fell across the desolate wasteland as Corrin drew Shulk into a more comfortable position on his lap, Toon gripping hard on Shulk’s clothes, sobbing and crying into Shulk’s clothes. Tension strung itself between the group as they waited… waited for the miracle drink to do its work. When suddenly a spark of blue began to run itself along the lines that decorated Shulk’s unconscious body. The group immediately turned their attention to the seer as his fingers twitched a little, blue colour slowly returning to the lines, albeit faint and very slow. Turquoise eyes slowly fluttered open and a soft, pained groan echoing from the dry throat. The group huddled around Shulk, their eyes watering, glistening with tears, even for Dark Pit. 

Shakily, Shulk lifted his hand to their faces, running shaky and weak fingers along their cheeks one by one as a weak smile slowly made its way onto his lips. “I-I am… so glad… that you guys came for me… Thank you…” He choked out, voice raspy and dry. “I… I am so glad…” He managed to gasp out before his hand fell limp by his side and his eyes closed once more. Pit and Toon let out a cry each but Corrin stopped them. ‘It's fine…’ Corrin assured them. ‘He is just asleep now.’ The two immediately drew back and stifled a sniff as they nodded. They watched and huddled around Shulk, even Dark Pit who tried to feign it off as concern for a fellow party member and that Shulk owed him for knocking Zanza to sleep with that shot. 

Patiently they waited, waited for Shulk to open his eyes once more. To greet them again with his smile. So they could return to those happy days with him. To forge their bonds once more. They began to wait in silence for him once more. They cared not for their aching, bruised and battered bodies. All they wanted to do was to wait for the true heir to the Monado to wake once more...

Suddenly Pit raised his head up. And without warning, he immediately flung himself out, between the group, Shulk and something as a ray of light whizzed through the air.

**BANG!**

A strangled gasp and cough of agony as Pit stumbled back, Dark Pit, Toon and Corrin raised their gazes towards Pit, eyes wide as they watched the lighter angel’s knees buckle under him. “I am glad… No one- No one is hurt.” The lighter angel coughed out, blood pooling from the edges of his mouth as he shifted his working right arm towards his lower left abdomen. 

A large arrow made of light, sparkling with red electricity jutted out through Pit’s lower abdomen, dripping with sticky… crimson red blood that pooled into a puddle below him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wish to scream at me, you can message me on my tumblr its-not-zelda-but-link.tumblr.com or message me on Discord ( BoltZekromz#4633 ). Thank you I will see you all soon~


	27. Unable to See Eye to Eye

### Chapter 27: Unable to See Eye to Eye

Sticky crimson blood dripped into a pooling puddle beneath the white angel, the dark stained tip of the arrow crusted with dried blood as it stuck out through Pit’s lower abdomen. A weak smile twitched upon Pit’s lips as his shaking blue eye fluttered a little before it closed and he fell forward, knees buckling under the light angel as he collapsed into Dark Pit’s outstretched arms. Right wing drooped much like his left wing, weak and numbed by pain as blood dripped from the arrow tip onto Dark Pit’s chiton, staining it a darker colour of black, damp with warm blood. Dark Pit’s knuckles tensed as he gripped hard on Pit’s red clothes, teeth clenched hard as his eye was hidden by his bangs. A choked gasp from Toon and stiff movements from Corrin as Dark Pit threw his head up in an unholy scream. 

“WHO THE FUCK DID IT?” Dark Pit snarled out as he stumbled forward on a weak foot as Pit was slumped over his chest, blood pooling into a growing puddle below him. “WHO IS THERE? SHOW YOUR FUCKING COWARD BITCHASS FACES!” Dark Pit screeched out as his body tripped and almost fell over on himself. Dark Pit grunted out in pain and in disbelief at his vision that began to go blurry. He blinked his crimson red left eyes rapidly trying to keep his sight functional. Yet he grit his teeth and whipped his head back and forth trying to pinpoint the attacker, sight barely functional. Just as Dark Pit felt himself succumb to the darkness, he heard a soft ‘tsk’ in the distance. 

“Missed.” 

Dark Pit’s face contorted into a dark scowl, anger and fury written over his features as he mouthed weak words before he fell unconscious. “Fucker…” Both angels crashed onto the ground, heavy and in the dark puddle of blood. The dark warm crimson blood soaked into their clothes, staining them dark red, including their feathers as both angels lay there barely breathing. Toon let out a strangled gasp as he ran over to the two angels, running weak fingers along their backs, trying desperately with his lacking strength to untangle the two angels and put them on their backs. Toon’s knuckles turned white, tears blurring and blotting out his vision, fat drops of tears fell from his eyes, streaking down his cheek and staining the clothes of the angels as he cried, sobbed and coughed. His tiny hands too injured and weak from the fight prior to muster any strength to help them. Desperation clawed at Toon, muscles weak and mind way too messy to think rationally. 

A warm embrace covered Toon, surrounding him with wings of silver sparkling as Corrin pulled himself over, managing to untangle the angels swiftly and lay each angel on their backs next to Shulk’s unconscious body. Corrin’s crimson eyes wavered in a brief moment of sadness, putting his ear to each of their chests momentarily. Weak heartbeats. ‘They are still alive… They can still be saved if we hurry.’ His thoughts rang to Toon, trying to reassure the tiny Hylian in the embrace of his wings. Toon sniffed and buried his face into Corrin’s wings and nodded weakly. Corrin smiled slightly before his pupils narrowed to that of slits, putting Toon beside Pit to allow the tiny Hylian to try and dislodge the arrow from Pit. Crawling on all fours, his lips parted in a sour snarl as he focused his gaze on a small plateau on the other side of the battlefield. 

‘Who are you?’ His thoughts echoing through the atmosphere, laced with fury and sharpened with threats as the shadows stepped into the light. No… not one shadow… not even two… tens of fighters surrounded them in an instant. Corrin froze, hackles raised, wings spread out wide as he bared his fangs, whipping his head around at the circle that surrounded them. Growls and snarls threatening the circle from closing in any further as Corrin lashed his tail on the ground. 

“Easy does it Corrin.” Came a smooth voice, a click of a gun as Joker slowly moved from the shadows. The light poured and surrounded them and Corrin shivered, all the fighters of the many multiverses had surrounded them. Since when? It was hard to pin-point when they had shown up but they definitely were not in the mood for chit chat. They all had their weapons of fists, fangs and claws bared towards Corrin, Toon and their three unconscious teammates. Corrin hissed and planted himself over his friends, snarling as Toon quickly stood up to cover Corrin’s back blindspot. Joker’s gun did not waver as he pointed the barrel towards Shulk under Corrin, prompting the dragon-born to lower himself, snarling as he did. “Tch.” Joker made a clicking noise with his tongue but still did not move the gun barrel away. Byleth had another arrow on Failnaught aimed at the group, specifically where Shulk was before Corrin used a wing to cover him from sight.

“Move aside Corrin.” Joker huffed out, fingers tense on the trigger of his gun. “I don’t want to accidentally shoot you as well.” Corrin hissed, body lowering itself over Shulk and the two unconscious angels even more as he snarled and growled like a feral animal. ‘Why are you doing this?’ Corrin growled out, his thoughts grating in the air causing the entire circle of fighters to shiver and take a step back. Corrin’s thoughts rang, malice thick on his words as he hissed his thoughts out. ‘Why are you attacking us?’ Joker shook his head as Byleth shifted her foot out. “I didn't mean to shoot Pit. He stood in the way of my arrow and Shulk.” Corrin’s eyes widened and his wings tensed around him. ‘Why… Why Shulk?’

Joker raised an eye at Corrin as Kirby peeked out from over Joker’s shoulder, eyes narrowed upon the group, something that unnerved Corrin. Toon backed into Corrin, breaths heavy, chest heaving and wheezing as Cloud stood out from the crowd, sword held firm in front of him. “Why? Shouldn’t you know the answer already?” Joker hissed out, voice quiet and sharp as he pointed his gun between Shulk, Corrin, Pit, Dark Pit and then Toon. “Shulk hurt everyone else. He is possessed. The enemy. Our enemy.”

“So we have come to avenge the lost souls. End him right here before he hurts more people.” 

Toon ran in front of Corrin, throwing his tiny body between Joker and Corrin. “No!” Toon squeaked out, pitched and shaky. “You are wrong! It’s not Shulk’s fault!” Byleth raised an eye at Toon's desperate face. “I am sorry that we had to meet like this after we promised to see you again, little Toon Link. But…” Byleth changed her aim towards Toon. “But for the safety of everyone else, he must be killed right here. Right now.” Toon shook his head fervently, Corrin’s translations booming in his head as the little Hylian shuddered from the weight of the gazes on him. “I-Its not Shulk’s fault! He is our friend! We can’t kill him! He was just not in control! It-It… He is not a threat anymore-” An arrow whizzed right past Toon’s face, grazing him before embedding itself into the ground right next to him. Blood dripped down from the cut on his cheek. As Toon stumbled back and fell on his butt. Byleth nocked another arrow on Failnaight, drawing the string back once more.

“For the safety of everyone else, we will have to kill him now. Who knows if he will wake up and turn on us again?” Byleth’s words cold and bitter and Toon flinched back in fear. “This is the only way out.” Joker pointed his gun once more as Kirby dropped from his shoulder, wielding his giant flaming hammer, eyes ablaze with anger as they began to close the distance between them and the disadvantaged group. “We have witness reports.” Joker raised his eye towards Toon, distant and cold. “We even have victims from his hands. Wolf, Ike, Robin, MetaKnight and Torracat. They were all found with deep scorch marks, cuts, bruises and an innate fear of anything gold. Ness and Lucas testified, a golden fighter lined with golden lines attacked them. Shulk.” Joker was interrupted as Zelda held herself in front of him. “Please little Link.” She whispered out. “I know you knew him before all this happened but we cannot let him roam freely around. I am so sorry little Link.” Zelda shook her head, biting her lip as she averted her eyes.

“You cannot prove that he won’t turn on us, so the safest is to kill him right here right now.” Toon backed up into Corrin, heavy and deep breathing laced with growls echoing from Corrin’s throat. Toon’s shaking fingers closed around Corrin’s palms, ignoring the pricking feeling on his skin from Corrin’s claws. ‘We won’t let you.’ Corrin growled out. The group didn’t stop their advance upon them. “Then you know the math.” Joker deadpanned. “To kill five for the sake of the other seventy of us. You are outnumbered, Corrin, Toon Link.” Joker pointed his gun towards the two. “We won’t kill you, maybe just knock you out and then contain you while we kill Shulk. Then we all have nothing to worry about-”

“NO!” Toon shrieked out. “We will have something to worry about! Sh-Shulk… Shulk will be gone… That's something to cry… worry about...” Toon sobbed out, causing a ripple of hesitation to echo from the group. It was silent for a moment, tension strung on a taut string between both parties, only the ragged breathing of Toon and Corrin were heard amongst the rigid silence. “It’s for the best.” Joker stated once more, strict and serious, the Phantom Thief’s finger tensed around the trigger and a roar echoed out. ‘I-I… I WON’T LET YOU!’

**“GRRRAAAAAAWWWRRRRR!”**

A chill ran up the spines of everyone present as Corrin roared out loud, fangs sharpening and elongating in his mouth. Scales running up his skin as his body grew larger and larger, fingers hardening into black claws as hard silver scales covered his human skin. Bones cracking, organs shifting as muscles pulled and stretched to accommodate Corrin’s shifting body. Wings raised high in the air, tail whipping on the ground loudly as a giant silver dragon roared out, fangs glinting white and menacingly curved antlers on his head, heavy and sharp. ‘Shulk… Toon… Pit and Dark Pit… They are all my family… You will NOT lay a single hand on them!’ Corrin’s thoughts rang out, loud and overbearing as the pressure of his thoughts and feelings weighed itself on the group, forcing them to falter, dropping the firm aim on their weapons. 

Blood dripped itself from Corrin’s jaw, the change he forced upon his injured body was starting to open up his injuries once more. Heavy wheezing, ragged breaths as Corrin growled, digging his claws into the ground, rearing his head up in a loud roar. Toon choked out a weak yelp as claws wrapped around his body, Corrin picking Toon, Pit, Dark Pit and Shulk in his claws as he roared out once more, tail whipping around him dangerously preventing the others from reaching him. With a strong beat of his wings, Corrin began to lift himself off the ground, the force of his wings against the air caused a massive gust of wind to blow, forcing the opposing group to shield their eyes from the dry draft as Corrin began to take flight. 

“Shoot him down!” The order was screamed out as projectiles were fired. Axes, bullets and various other items were thrown at Corrin’s direction, the dragon grunting out in pain stemming from multiple injuries that littered his body as he flapped his wings desperately, avoiding and trying to grit his teeth through the pain as he flew higher and higher into the air. Yet he still held himself back, not wishing to attack the opposing group. An axe was flung straight towards him, slicing through the thin membrane on his wing and Corrin let out a roar of pain, wing going slightly limp as he bit his tongue, drawing even more blood as he flapped his wings rapidly trying to keep airborne, unaccustomed to the wing injury. “Corrin!” Toon struggled in Corrin’s grip, managing to grab his Hookshot shooting it around Corrin in order to swing himself onto Corrin’s back. Reaching into his satchel, Toon pulled out a small bottle, the last of his fairy in a bottle where a tiny fairy was contained and released it on Corrin’s wing. The tiny fairy fluttered, showering soft glitter onto the hole in Corrin’s wings, mending it back together just in time for Corrin to flap and dodge a bullet from Joker in time. 

Corrin lurched in the air and Toon tumbled off his back, caught just in time by Corrin’s tail that coiled tightly around the little Hylian before he plummeted to his death. Toon felt his heart in his throat as Corrin’s thoughts echoed out. ‘Be careful. We have a rough flight ahead!’ With the last flap of his wings, Corrin soared high into the sky, out of reach of the projectiles that were aimed at shooting him down. A cold shiver ran up both Corrin and Toon’s spine as they immediately looked back down. The ground shook and crumbled under the grounded fighters below them as a giant eyeball, tentacles of a dark purple tipped with a red spike pulled itself out of the ground, writhing and trying to reach for Corrin. 

“ZANZAAAAA!” Dharkon screeched out and Corrin shook his head as he tore his gaze away from Dharkon and zipped through airspace. He could vaguely hear the voices of the fighters below him as they ran about in panic. “Let them go!” “Deal with Dharkon first!” 

Biting hard on his tongue, drawing more blood, Corrin flew across the dark, purple sky as he disappeared into the dark clouds, leaving the desolate battlefield and the people they once called ‘friends’ behind them.

* * *

“Are you sure they came this way?” The blue hedgehog muttered out, sceptical as he stared down Chrom from atop Cloud’s shoulder. The Prince of Ylisse gave a slight sigh as he shook his head, “I cannot be certain but according to Joker’s information, they were headed in this general direction.” Chrom hung his head down, rubbing the back of his head. “I am not even sure if we are in the right area though.” Sonic made a clicking noise as he looked from side to side. “Move forward, Cloud.” Cloud nodded numbly as the soldier slowly moved forward, one step at a time at Sonic’s order. Chrom watched as Cloud moved along with Sonic on his shoulder and he smiled slightly, the scene reminded him of when he did the same with baby Lucina, the one from his time and not the future. 

“Try not to lead Cloud directly into trouble Sonic.” Chrom reminded with a slight huff. “It will be hard to judge his emotions if we do, we need to be respectful of his space.” Sonic rolled his eyes. “You worry too much, man! With the disappearance of Dharkon into the Final Area, there aren’t any puppets in the Dark Realm. Finding trouble here is like trying to find a Chili Dog in the middle of a field.” Chrom furrowed his brow at the comparison that Sonic made but chose not to chase the hedgehog’s choice of words. Instead he looked to Cloud, “Cloud, if you feel uncomfortable, please let us know.” Cloud took a moment, words processing in his mind a little before nodding the affirmative. Chrom huffed in defeat at Cloud’s compliance and watched in mute concern as Sonic directed Cloud forward once more. A sudden shift in the shadows behind them and Chrom whirled around, eyes narrowing on the rocks behind them with a squint. 

“Hey Chrom!” Sonic called out, waving a hand at Chrom as he perched atop Cloud’s shoulders. “What are you doing? We still have that side of the area to check out!” Chrom bit his lip and slowly moved towards the rocks when Sonic called out to him again. “Earth to Chrom?” Shaking his head, Chrom looked back. “Sorry sorry, must have been my imagination.” Sonic narrowed his gaze at Chrom and shrugged it off before the group turned forward to scour the area a bit more. Chrom took a last glance back, seeing nothing move before retiring it to his imagination and followed after Sonic.

A tiny body sat behind the rock formations that Chrom stared at just a few moments ago, breaths heavy yet hushed, and his little heart thumped against his ribs, lungs felt like they were about to explode from the tension as he held his palms over his mouth to keep himself from speaking. Toon slowly drew himself over the cover of the rock to see that Chrom, Sonic and Cloud had moved on away from him and he let the stress in his body immediately dissipate. Toon collapsed against the rock in relief and took a few moments to breathe and calm himself down before he began to crawl towards the rocky outcrop just past where Chrom and Sonic were before. Squeezing through the small cracks in the wall with his petite body size, Toon tumbled into a small hole that was carved from the rocks. 

Sat around a fire that was crackling, providing the small campsite with a little warmth, Pit allowed Dark Pit to rewrap the bandages over the giant gaping wound in his abdomen, hissing in pain before Dark Pit gave him a light slap, telling Pit to deal with the pain. The old bandages were soaked through with blood but the gaping hole was slowly healing over thanks to the light angel’s divine protection and angel biology. Corrin lay on the ground around Shulk’s unconscious body, eyes watching the embers dance around the fire with mild amusement, cooing soft noises as he watched the fire do the Waltz. The sound of Toon returning caught Corrin’s attention as he lifted his head up from the ground, crimson eyes glimmering and lips parting in a smile as Toon tumbled into the clearing. Pit turned and waved at Toon before flinching and curling on himself from the pain, to which Dark Pit hissed at Pit. “I told you not to fucking move dumb Pit-stain.” Dark Pit rolled his eye before giving a short look at Toon to acknowledge the little Hylian’s presence before turning back to Pit’s wounds. 

‘Did you manage to find water?’ Corrin mused out, yawning as he stretched himself a little, wings and tail stretching behind him as he sat up straight, resting Shulk’s head on his lap as Toon smiled widely, holding his satchel upside down as glass bottles of water, waterskins and many other small containers fell out, filled to the brim with water. Pit grinned from ear to ear, bright blue right eye twinkling in pride for Toon’s accomplishment, “Great job Toon!” He signed back, albeit with rigid movements to not aggravate his wound. “Now we don’t have to worry about water for a while.” Toon nodded and slowly gathered the water vessels once more before moving closer to the fire to warm his tiny hands up. The campsite fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, other than the small talk between Pit and Dark Pit as the angels bickered over Pit’s injury. The rest of the group had minor injuries from the fight with Zanza but they were mostly treated and were recovering from it nicely. 

After warming his hands back up, Toon looked towards Dark Pit who had finally finished changing Pit’s bandages and was clearing out the first aid kit. “I saw Chrom, Sonic and Cloud just now…” Toon mumbled, voice soft and shaky. Dark Pit’s head immediately turned to face Toon, narrowing his sharp red eyes at the little sailor. “What were they doing?” The dark angel signed to Toon and Toon furrowed his brow. “I think they were trying to find us.” Toon signed back in response and Dark Pit scowled. “They still haven’t given up huh.” Pit’s face fell as he let his right hand move over his wound. “Why won’t they just believe us… That Shulk is fine now… we defeated Zanza… Everything should be ok.” The light angel mumbled but received no response from the group. 

Corrin lowered his gaze to the still sleeping Seer in his lap and cooed softly. Shulk slept on, head in Corrin’s lap as Corrin’s tail was placed over Shulk’s chest to monitor his heartbeat and breathing, the Monado lines on Shulk’s skin was still alight faintly with a soft blue light. Shulk was breathing lightly and Corrin let his wings droop beside him as Dark Pit, Pit and Toon exchanged sign language and words between them about what Toon saw. Suddenly Shulk twitched and Corrin’s eyes widened, a smile forming on his lips, his tail moved away from Shulk’s chest to allow the Seer to feel comfortable, also because Corrin’s tail was now wagging uncontrollably behind him. Shulk’s features twitched once more, a grimace for a moment and Corrin leaned in closer.

Corrin heard his own chokes and coughs before his brain managed to process what was happening. 

Shulk’s hands were wrapped tight around Corrin’s throat, blunt nails digging into the thin skin around Corrin’s neck and Corrin gasped, coughed and choked out in pain. Staring back at Corrin were cold golden eyes, glinting with cruelty and madness. Corrin’s hands quickly flew to grasp around Shulk’s wrists but hesitated when he remembered his claws. His wings flapped behind him in a panic and his tail whipped the ground in mass hysteria as his coughs and choking noises grew in volume. It was around this time that Dark Pit and Pit realised what was happening. Pit tried to move but the pain in his abdomen prevented him from moving, going as far as to reopen the wound in his hasty movement, blood spilling and soaking through the new bandages. Dark Pit instructed Toon to look over Pit in a hasty sign and quickly rushed over to Corrin’s aid.

Dark Pit tried his best to separate the two, grunting out, shouting and even hissing as he dug his own nails into Shulk’s wrists trying to force Shulk… no, Zanza to release Corrin. Corrin gasped once more, closing an eye as he allowed scales to harden over the thin skin on his neck preventing Zanza from further choking him and the God scowled. Before Zanza could continue his terror, the golden colour in his eyes faltered, blinking and slowly replaced by a fearful turquoise. Shulk’s grip around Corrin’s neck immediately relaxed and his own hands shaking, retracted back towards himself. Apology filled turquoise eyes stared back at Corrin and Dark Pit before his heavy and languid eyelids closed and Shulk fell unconscious once more.

Dark Pit and Corrin looked at each other in silent shock before they both looked back at Shulk who lay in Corrin’s lap once more, cold beads of sweat collected over his face, the faint blue lines glitching and flashing between blue and gold at irregular intervals. Pit and Toon had watched the scuffle from afar, but even then it was hard for Toon to force the nausea down his throat as he almost hurled on the spot. Pit managed to catch the young sailor in time, running a gentle warm hand up and down Toon’s back to calm him down. 

Dark Pit clenched his fist, knuckles turning white as he looked at Shulk’s body that flashed between blue and gold. Corrin’s gasps and coughs were still strung in air as his scales melted back into soft human flesh. The realization that what Joker and the others had been insisting was right all along.

Zanza was still in Shulk.

* * *

It wasn’t that the group didn’t want to kill Zanza, but more because they had no means to. Zanza himself was deeply ingrained into Shulk’s body and mind, the Monado lines only added to the pile of evidence they had. They had quickly come to the conclusion that in order to kill Zanza, they had to kill Shulk himself, as gut-wrenching as that reality was. They refused to think along that line of thought at first, denying what Joker had insisted back when they were attacked, but soon they felt themselves retiring to the fact that there was no way to separate Shulk from Zanza.

Zanza was Shulk’s lifeforce.

Even when Shulk finally managed to wake up properly and was moving about fine, they didn’t dare leave Shulk alone. Every night at least one person would stay up to watch over Shulk, on the off-chance that Zanza might take over and do something rash again. Usually Corrin would stay up and even then sometimes when Corrin wasn’t looking, Zanza would manage to get away from the dragon long enough to do something reckless.

It was hard enough for the group to constantly treat Shulk’s new and blooming injuries all over his body or even find the strength to wrestle Replica away from Zanza whenever he had control. Sometimes Zanza would turn the blade on them, cutting deep bruises, burns and new cuts into their bodies. Toon had to go out on more trips to scour for medical supplies, something that happened more and more often as time in the rocky outcrop ticked on by. Shulk always looked apologetic to them whenever he saw them, opting to hide his face from them and even took to pulling his hood over his face to avert his eyes from the group. 

Every now and then, Dark Pit had to smack Shulk for digging his nails into his skin when the Homs tried to scratch the Monado lines off his body. Sometimes he had to wrestle with Zanza with the help of Corrin and Pit behind him. Even when Pit’s injury had majorly healed, Shulk still wasn’t in the right condition to move. The war of control between Shulk and Zanza continued on for days and days on end, Gold vs Blue, sometimes ending in Shulk being unable to sleep as he curled up, sobbing in Corrin’s wings as he let the salt in his tears burn the open wounds on his arms and face. 

Yet the group tried. They really did. They continued to treat their injuries with care and Dark Pit had even taken conscious effort to speak as gently as possible to Shulk when he could, which usually meant less swearing, but it was an improvement. Toon and Pit always asked Shulk what he would like to eat first before everyone else and Shulk would always insist he was fine with anything since he couldn’t taste it but Pit continued to try his best to recreate dishes from Shulk’s hometown in Colony 9. Toon took upon the role to sometimes play and sing songs for Shulk, relying on his innate memory for music to help cheer up the seer on hard days. Usually it devolved to Toon crying mid-song and had to be consoled by both Shulk and Corrin, but his efforts never went under-appreciated. Corrin always had a sharp eye on Shulk, he never said much but Shulk could always feel Corrin’s piercing gaze upon him. Especially since Corrin was the only one who could match Zanza in strength when the God took over Shulk’s body. 

Once, Toon had asked for Shulk to remove his clothes so he could wash them by a river nearby and Shulk obliged albeit hesitantly, scared of showing the Monado lines that painted his body, but after seeing Toon’s wide puppy eyes, he conceded. Removing his clothes and handing it to Toon, Toon seemed to light up with a smile before dashing out of their rocky hideout to do the chores. Dark Pit’s gaze laid themselves upon Shulk and suddenly drew in a sharp hiss. On Shulk’s back around his left shoulder blade area, there was a scar that spread out across his back like a lightning pattern, it glowed slightly much like the Monado lines that canvassed Shulk’s skin. He wanted to puke, but he held it in and excused himself from the campsite.

Pit followed after his dark twin, constantly reassuring him that it wasn’t Dark Pit’s fault and that Dark Pit did it for the best. Pit tried to be as optimistic as he could around Dark Pit but the dark angel’s sour scowl and oozing regret seemed to affect Pit too as the light angel stopped and just leaned into Dark Pit’s shoulder as silent company to let Dark Pit think on it himself. Corrin would later explain to Shulk about the ether bullet scar on his back and what Dark Pit had done to temporarily knock Zanza out of control when they were still fighting. Shulk found himself feeling really grateful but Dark Pit still refused to acknowledge the action as anything but violent. 

Over and over again, the nights passed by, sometimes Zanza would overpower Shulk’s control and try to slit the throats of the one on patrol, mostly failing since it was Corrin or because Corrin could sense Zanza’s movements. It had gotten to the point where Corrin could effectively read Shulk’s movements. Yet they still held the hope and continued to huddle together (despite Dark Pit’s staunch refusal) around the campfire, indulging in their warmth and familiar smells. Even with the looming threat of Zanza hung above their heads like a fragile thread, they continued to stay put in the rocky outcrop, hoping against hope that one day, Zanza would eventually vanish.

* * *

Falco yawned as he exited from one of the many tents that dotted Kirby’s campsite in the middle of the Dark Realm. Stretching himself and ruffling his feathers, the avian ace pilot made his way towards his vehicle, hoping to do the daily morning maintenance on the Landmaster and Arwing. He turned the corner to see Red and Fox standing by the vehicle talking amongst themselves. Titling his head, Falco called out to them only for Fox to run up to him and slap Falco across the face, snarling at Falco to keep quiet. 

“What's the deal, Fox?” Falco squawked out albeit in a hushed voice as Fox glanced from side to side before offering a paw to help Falco back to his feet. “Be quiet, Falco.” Fox insisted with a hiss. “I don’t want anyone else finding us or listening in on us.” Falco raised a confused look at Fox as he saw Red slowly load Riolu, Charmeleon and Bulbasaur into the Arwing on top of the Landmaster before the Trainer made his way to Falco and Fox. “What's going on with you two? What's with all the secrecy?” Falco indignantly squawked out as Fox grunted out heavy with a huff. “We are going to go find Shulk’s team.” 

Falco looked at Fox questioningly, confusion written all over his face. “But when Kirby and Joker were asking for teams that were willing to search for them, you adamantly refused to join the search. What made you change your mind?” Fox shook his head and sighed. “I never changed my mind. After all, I don’t want to resort to anything as barbaric as killing them.” Falco furrowed his brow, clicking in his beak in annoyance. “Then what?” Red held a hand between Fox and Falco. “Fox and I talked it out, we both want to save Shulk instead.” 

Looking over at the Pokemon that were making themselves comfortable in the Arwing’s cockpit, Red smiled slightly before turning back to Falco. “I am sure you noticed Falco but… the person who attacked us wasn’t Shulk, it was a man called Zanza. We all heard Dharkon call him by that name and not Shulk. I even gathered some intel from Lucas who saw ‘Shulk’ attack Robin’s group, he was eager to give me the information since he too could not believe it was entirely Shulk’s fault.” Red took the opportunity to gesture the quotations around the name ‘Shulk’. “ Fox and I couldn’t figure out the specifics but I have known Pokemon that can possess objects, humans and other pokemon to do their bidding back in my world, so It's not far-fetched to believe that Shulk was being possessed himself.” Falco opened his beak to speak, “Then-” “Then there must be a way to stop the possession entirely.” Fox huffed out, putting his arms on his waist. “If Pokemon possession can be stopped by asking the ghost pokemon to stop or by subduing it, then there must be a way to subdue this Zanza figure as well.” 

Falco sputtered out in disbelief at Fox’s words. “Are you crazy? You want to talk with that horrible… monster-thing?” Fox shook his head. “I know that talking is going to be useless against a crazed maniac like Zanza, I got that from our brief encounter with him. I am not stupid, Falco.” Fox growled out, proceeding to cross his arms in front of his chest and tapped an impatient foot on the ground. “That’s why Red and I were trying to figure out how to help them.” Fox grumbled out as he looked between Red and Falco. “Any ideas?”

Falco clicked his beak for a second and sighed. “I mean, if you are going to try and fight against something as strong as that self-proclaimed god, Zanza, then you might want to gather enough firepower to combat him in the first place. Doubt you will find anyone who can rival that monstrous amount of power-” “That’s it!” Fox exclaimed out, clapping his paws together making both Falco and Red jump. “You fight fire with fire.” A smirk decorated itself upon Fox’s jaws and he looked at Red. “Kid, do you think you can have Riolu search for a specific person?” Red furrowed his brow and looked over at Riolu who gave a smirk and a thumbs up before turning back to Fox. “Riolu says he can, but we probably need a trace of aura of some sort.” 

Fox nodded, “I got that covered.” Turning his gaze to Falco, Fox smiled a bit too sweetly at Falco. “Come one Falco, let's get moving.” Falco narrowed his eyes at Fox, beak gawking at the Leader of Star Fox for a moment before Fox jabbed a thumb at the vehicle behind him. “Can’t go anywhere without the Ace Pilot of Star Fox or perhaps Team Star Pokemon to show off his fantastic piloting skills right?” Falco hung his head down in defeat and drew the keys from his pocket, unlocking the cockpit of the landmaster. “Right you got me. I do want to thank those kids for saving my ass back then.” 

As Team Star Pokemon climbed into the vehicle, Falco leaned back in his seat as the engines of the Landmaster began to heat up and its engine began to rev up. “So what is your plan Fox? Surely you have something that has a sort of aura-thing for Riolu to track right?” Fox chuckled slightly as he reached into the back compartment of the Arwing, filing through his belongings. “Not exactly a pure aura trace, but it's close enough to what we need.” As Fox slowly drew out a silver mirror from the back of the Arwing just as the Landmaster revved up and began to roar as it barrelled down the road towards an unknown destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _planning_ on doing a few couple shorts in a separate work dictating the adventures and battles of the other characters in the Smash Bros Roster. If there is a particular group or character you would like to see, suggest it and I might write it when I get the motivation to lol. Hahaha... Oh god quarantine in Australia is getting worse.
> 
> <strike>will people be interested in a discord server to scream at me about this stupid fic... idk, if I get enough interest, then I will set one up I guess where you can see my dumb art for this fic since I keep forgetting my tumblr exists.</strike>


	28. [Interlude] Distant Dreaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an interlude and not a continuation of the plot.

### Chapter 28: [Interlude] Distant Dreaming

_’A distant dream in times you wished to return back to.’_

The papers scattered across the desk in a messy fashion reflected the conflicted thoughts that whirred around in Shulk’s mind. The seer groaned and rolled his head over the desk a little bit, running a hand through his blonde hair as he closed his eyes and mumbled quiet words to himself in hopes he could motivate himself to get back to work. It didn’t work. Shulk just lay with his head on the desk, bleary unfocused eyes staring at the corner of the room where the Monado lay on a metal machine that whirred with loud sounds. The bright red blade stared at him, the lines on the sword had blue ether energy that flowed through the weapon, resembling the lines stained on Shulk’s skin. Lines that similarly glowed a bright blue colour, sickening and blue. 

Shulk shook his head and raised himself off the desk, holding his head in his palms as he looked at the messy paperwork on the desk, written in his illegible scribbles. The words were a blur to him as he stared at it, not really comprehending what they read. He ran a finger over the words, mumbling the words he read but still not quite understanding what he read. It was weird to him, that his mind was just this… blank. 

A sudden knock on a metal door shook him out of his delusions for a moment and Shulk blinked, hastily raising his gaze towards the entrance of the lab where she stood, stern eyes staring straight at him. “Shulk.” She began, voice soft and gentle as she moved over to his side, picking up the papers, squinting at the incomprehensible words for a moment before returning her gaze back to the weapon’s researcher. “Don’t tell me you have been locked up in the lab for the past 2 days again.” Shulk blinked blearily at her and hastily tried to hide his weariness. “N-No… I only just got here-”

“Oh Shulk.” Fiora sighed as she placed the papers back on the table and picked up his hand, showing him the flashing lines on his skin, glowing with an unsteady pace. “You are a horrible liar. You haven’t eaten anything at all, have you?” Shulk bit his lip and quickly snatched his hand back from Fiora, clutching his hand as he turned away slowly. “I hate this body, Fiora.” He mumbled to her, eyes gazed on the floor. “Everyone stares at me like I am some sort of monster… I don’t want to go out if all I will receive are those cold stares. That’s why I didn’t go out to get food...” 

His body shivered and without looking at the lines, he knew they were already exposing how much uncertainty and fear sat in his heart. They always did, no matter how hard he tried to lie to himself or others, those lines… the lines of the Monado would always be a tell-tale sign of his real feelings. They would light up, flash, glitch and flare up... There was no denying those lines. A warm hand wrapped around his waist and Shulk sucked in a breath. “But you aren’t a monster to me.” Fiora whispered to him softly. As she coaxed him to his feet. “Come on, I prepared a picnic for us at Outlook Park! I figured you were going to be stuck in here for a few days, so I prepared everything in advance. Besides, I am sure you need a little break once in a while, maybe that’s why you hit a roadblock on your research.” 

Shulk looked up at Fiora for a moment before shaking his head. “I can’t leave… Everyone will just stare at me-” A gentle finger placed itself on his lips as Fiora stared at him with a soft smile. “It’s okay, Shulk. I am sure no one will stare at you. Well…” She chuckled as she moved her hands to lock fingers with Shulk’s fingers. “If you are still afraid of their stares, you can just keep your gaze on me and I will lead you to the park.” Shulk blinked at her and swallowed the hard lump in his throat and nodded slowly as he pulled his hood over his head and looked down at the ground. “Ok…” He mumbled and Fiora’s face instantly lit up with a smile. 

She pulled Shulk out of the lab and out into the military district, humming to herself as they made their way to Outlook Park. Shulk flinched a little when he could hear the distant whispering from the soldiers around him, feeling their harsh stares on his back and he ducked his head lower. Their words of mockery and disgust pounded in his head and Shulk bit hard on his lip, tightening his grip on Fiora’s hands as he held his free hand to his ear, trying to block out the sounds around him. Their cold, grating words reverberated through his body, sending cold shivers up and down his spine, uncertainty laced in his heart. The lines on his body began to flare up, glowing, glitching which attracted even more attention. His breathing began to pick up the pace and he could hear his own heart pound in his chest, but not loud enough to block out the sound. He wanted to scream, he wanted to just run back- 

“Shulk.” Fiora’s warm voice cut through his panic as she squeezed his hand in return. “Just focus on me. It will be alright.” She reassured him with a coo. Shulk let the tears slowly flow down his cheek but he sucked in a stifled breath and nodded as he let his gaze focus on Fiora as she led him through the military district, through the residential district until they were clear of the crowds. The two didn’t say anything until they reached the top of outlook Park where a feast lay spread out for them along with two other familiar faces. 

Reyn waved a hand at Shulk as he stuffed himself with another one of Fiora’s homemade sandwiches and Dunban sat on the bench, sipping slowly on a cup of coffee. “Reyn!” Fiora cried out as she dragged Shulk over to the picnic blanket. “I told you to wait until Shulk arrived!” Reyn rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “‘m sorry Fiora, but it all looked so good, I couldn’t help myself.” Fiora stared at him with a harsh glare for a brief moment before sighing and admitting defeat to his ravenous appetite. Fiora pulled Shulk to sit on the picnic blanket and held out a sandwich to him. 

“See, Shulk?” Fiora smiled as she pushed the sandwich into his hands. “It’s not too bad isn’t it? Even if the whole world is against you with how you look, we are still here for you.” Reyn grinned widely as he leaned over to Shulk to give the young boy a hearty slap on the back. “If anyone out there is gonna talk smack about you, I will give them a good punch back.” Ren reassured him with a thumbs-up which elicited a slight laugh from Dunban. “If you do that Reyn, Colonel Vangarre might make you do extra laps around the colony.” Reyn furrowed his brow and rubbed the back of his head. “I guess it's worth it if it’s for Shulk.” Dunban seemed to smile lightly as he focused his stern gaze on Shulk. Shulk’s lines flashed a little bit under the scalding stare that soon softened. “I think those lines are quite a magnificent thing Shulk. You don’t have to be scared of them.” 

Shulk blinked at Dunban for a moment as Fiora slowly moved up to his side, leaning her head on his shoulder with a smile. “Well I like those lines. It reminds me of the gentle and honest Shulk that I know.” Shulk’s lips cracked a smile as he lowered his head to take a bite of the sandwich that Fiora had forced upon him, his growling stomach insisting he take a bite. So he did. 

“Delicious…” He muttered out as a tear fell from his eyes.

* * *

_’A distant dream from a land flooded by the sea.’_

Link leaned over the post that overlooked Outset Island, humming a quiet song to himself… well quiet to him but in reality it was quite loud, it was to offset the hearing disability he had. Indulging himself in the salty sea air and the very muted cries of the seagulls around him, Link continued to hum to himself, composing new notes as he strung them together in a relaxing melody fit for the sea. Sweet and melodious… he loved to compose new music, it was a great way to pass the time on the dull little island he called home. 

Closing his eyes, he repeated the new song to himself again once more, using the opportunity to redo a few stray notes and string it to form a more coherent melody. With every correction, he grew more and more displeased with the song. It just didn’t feel right to him. When the last note left his lips, Link let his knees give way beneath him as he lay down on the wooden flooring of the lookout, staring blankly at the wooden roof above his head. A few whispers of notes would leave his lip, but none really cemented itself in his mind as he lay there unmoving. 

A buzzing noise in his head began to pick up and he closed his eyes, groaning as he turned away. But soon it grew louder and louder until- “LINK!” came the high-pitched voice as Link immediately sat up with a start, eyes darting left and right before laying their gaze on Aryll. “What were you thinking about?” Aryll stared at him, eyes wide with curiosity as Link shook his head slowly. “Nothing… just coming up with a new song…” He muttered to himself quietly to which Aryll seemed to light up at the notion. “Really?” She cried out as she snuggled into his lap. “Let me hear it!” 

Link was perplexed and quickly shook his head. “No… it’s uhh… not very good… not complete.” He muttered excuses to himself which only earned a pout from Aryll. “That’s not fair big brother. You can’t just belittle yourself like that. Your songs are always really good!” Aryll squealed as she fumbled with the small telescope in her hands. “I want to hear it even if it's not good or complete because I love big brother’s work!” Those words stabbed him in heart and Link melted at her kind words as his shoulders relaxed and wrapped his arms around Aryll. “You sure?” He asked her once more and Aryll nodded. 

“I am always proud of big brother’s songs! Big brother always makes great songs despite his hearing problems!” Link felt his heart well up with a surge of warmth and he smiled. Soon a soft melody began to echo around them, filling the air around the island and travelling across the waves out into the sea. Sweet, soft and an uplifting melody. Aryll’s body relaxed in Link’s embrace as the song surrounded them with a warm blanket. They sat in the comfort of each other’s company until the song ended at which Aryll squealed and smiled widely. “What are you talking about, big brother? That was awesome! I really like it!” She giggled as she looked back up at Link with wide eyes. “Who is that song for?” 

Link’s tongue twisted on itself as he tried to find an answer… he stumbled on his words and looked away from Aryll sheepishly. “I… haven’t thought about it… I just composed the song because I wanted to.” Aryll frowned a little bit but soon wrapped her tiny arms around his shoulders. “You can take your time to think about it big brother! It's a nice song so no matter who you dedicate it to, they will definitely appreciate it!” Link’s heart melted at Aryll’s kind words before she suddenly stood up. 

Moving over to the edge of the lookout, Aryll waved a hand and smiled. “We are coming Grandma!” Turning back to Link who stared at her in confusion, Aryll stuck out a little tongue. “Grandma is calling for us to go home, she cooked some of our favourite cream stew for lunch.” Link flinched a little bit, distraught at his apparent inability to even hear his own Grandma call out for him and drew a hand back. Aryll recognized the gesture and moved over to Link, holding his hands in her tiny smooth palms. “Don’t worry big brother!” She reassured him with a wide smile, warm and cute. “Even if you cannot hear like all of us can, Grandma and I still love you all the same. We love big brother Link for who he is and what he is!” Grabbing his arm and tugging at it, her insistent voice echoing in his head. “Come on! Let’s go and get lunch!” 

Link let a smile touch his lips as he nodded. They climbed down the ladder leading to the lookout and the two siblings raced each other back to their house, bursting through the door all the while bickering in childish manners about who was first and who came in last in that tiny little race before settling down at the table. Grandma brought over the stew and placed it in front of the two, before giving a kiss on each of their foreheads. She took the seat at the head of the table and watched as the two kids devoured her famous cream stew with a wrinkly old smile. She then waited until she met eyes with Link before opening her mouth to speak. 

“Oh Link.” She smiled as she held out a wobbly hand to caress his cheek, wiping away a little stew that had stained his face. “Are you still that distraught over your ears?” Link’s body seized up a little and he let his spoon fall into the bowl as he looked at the stew, crestfallen. Yet Grandma seemed to smile as she got up from her chair to hug Link. “Don’t worry, my grandson. Even if you cannot hear completely well like all the other children, you are still their hero. Remember the time you saved their toys from being washed out to sea or how you helped save them from drowning?” Link blinked and nodded as Aryll hopped out of her seat to join in the hug. 

“You don’t need to hear to be a hero. Do you understand, my precious grandson?” Grandma cooed out as Link choked back a sob and nodded, allowing salty tears to drip into his soup before he returned the embrace to his family. “I miss you guys so much…” He mumbled, words garbled by his tears. As they hugged in silence over the stew that steamed and bubbled, warm and inviting.

* * *

_’A distant dream from a mirror.’_

Pit unwrapped the bandages around his left eye, and stared back at himself in the mirror, watching the oddly coloured eyes stare back. Blue and red. Scrunching up his face, Pit tried to hide his oddly coloured under his hair before putting on a satisfied smile and left the bathroom. Quickly moving back to his room without bumping into any Centurions, he picked up his controller and switched on the small television in his room, the blaring music of his game filled his room as Pit indulged himself in his game once more. The flashing lights and colourful scenery of the game was absolutely stunning, immersing him into its wonderful and fantastical world. 

A sudden sound of loud crashing broke his immersion and Pit yelped as splinters were scattered across his room, the splinters of the broken remains of his door. Standing in the doorframe, Dark Pit ran his fingers through his dark hair as he stared at Pit with his one bright red eye, the other eye still hidden behind tight bandages. A scowl wrung across the darker angel’s face as he rolled his eyes at the sight of Pit’s oddly coloured eyes, “What the fuck do you think you are doing Pit-stain?” Pit narrowed his eyes in confusion at Dark Pit for a moment before looking at his game and then back at Dark Pit. “I was just playing some games… what’s wrong with that Pittoo?” 

A huff escaped the darker angel’s lips as he made his way to a chair in Pit’s room, grabbing it, forcefully leaning it against the wall in a precarious fashion before sitting in it, arms crossed and bright crimson eyes focused on Pit. “Did you really need both eyes to see the dumb fuck screen?” Pit spluttered out in retort, shaking his head. “N-No but it's easier with both eyes!” holding a hand to his oddly coloured red eye, Pit stared back at Dark Pit with a sigh. “I don’t understand why you are so irked by me using both my eyes! Sure it looks weird… even I can acknowledge that but… it's easier to just use both eyes than-”

“Giving ourselves a handicap?” Dark Pit finished off Pit’s sentence with a grunt as he leaned back in the chair, staring at the blank manilla ceiling. “What matters is the fact that it's weird and staring at you with both eyes like that is nothing but a disgusting reminder that I am looking at myself.” Pit furrowed his brow at the darker angel’s notion, not quite comprehending what Dark Pit meant as they sat there in silence for a moment. After some tense silence strung across the room, Dark Pit huffed out. “Cover that eye.” To which Pit stood up abruptly, shaking his head. “No.” Dark Pit’s expression seemed to darken as he shot a look at Pit, cold and angered. “What did you say?” Pit stood his ground, eyes locked dead on Dark Pit as he insisted against it once more. “No.” 

“Even if you don’t want to acknowledge it, Pittoo, we have to live with these eyes, there is no turning back to what it once was.” Pit held a hand to his crimson left eye with a sigh. “I don’t like how weird it looks on me, but I don’t want it stopping me from what I need and want to do.” Pit paused to look up at Dark Pit with a stern look. “What about you? Are you really so insistent on not looking like me? That's why you force yourself to hide your eye? If anything it’s just petty.”

Dark Pit froze up, his wings tensed up behind his back as he looked away from Pit, staring at the floor whilst his hair hid his one bright crimson left eye. “I just don’t want to be reminded that we are so much more similar now. I used to take pride in my eyes because they were so different from yours. I do not want to be lumped in together with you. I am my own being, nothing to do with you.” He grunted out, words laced with discomfort as he gripped hard on his clothes. 

Pit moved over to Dark Pit, sitting on the floor next to Dark Pit as he allowed his game to continue blaring its loud music around the room, but it was now a soft drumming noise around the two angels as they fell into a comfortable quiet for a while. It was Pit who finally broke that silence. “I think you are your ownself already Pittoo.” Pit muttered out which only earned him a harsh glare from the dark angel in question. Ignoring Dark Pit’s stare, Pit continued, “You may have been created by the Mirror of Truth to reflect what I truly am deep inside but I think you are more than just a simple mirror image. You don’t follow what I do, you follow your own path. You make your own decisions… and isn’t that the ability that makes you a separate being?” 

Dark pit didn’t say anything to that, no response lifting from his lips as he turned away from Pit, hands moving up slowly to the bandage around his right eye as they began to unfurl the bandages silently as Pit continued. “You don’t have to lump yourself with me if you don’t like it… I won’t force you to either. If anything, you can just appreciate yourself for what you are right now… for being yourself.” The bandages fell to the ground as Dark Pit slowly opened up his right eye, a mellow azure blue staring back at Pit as a warm smile painted itself upon Pit’s face. 

Dark Pit watched as Pit’s similar looking odd coloured eyes lit up, sparkling with the same old annoying optimism as Pit threw his hands around Dark Pit with a laugh. “See Pittoo. You look great with those eyes. So even when you start to distance yourself away from just being my reflection… I think you can use those eyes as a reminder of our relationship and our friendships, whether we were enemies at one point or whether we were allies. I think it's just a good way to have me around when you are feeling lonely.” 

A scoff from the dark angel as he stood up and moved over to Pit, sitting next to Pit but looking in the opposite way. “Fuck that. If anything I want to be far from you. So I don’t have to deal with your fucking annoyingly cheerful optimism that just grates heavily on my fucking nerves.” Pit didn’t seem to be bothered by Dark Pit’s harsh jabs as he leaned into Dark Pit’s shoulder, the dark angel not even flinching as Pit did so. “That's the Pittoo I know.” Pit chuckled slightly as he closed his eyes and began to drift off on Dark Pit’s shoulder. 

“And you never fucking change, Pit-stain.” Dark Pit murmured as he too leaned his head into Pit’s hair as they both fell asleep in the splintered, messy remains of Pit’s room.

* * *

_’A distant dream about… mother.’_

His claws dug deep into the sheets as his knuckles turned white as he gripped hard at the white bedding. His heavy horns prevented his head from turning his neck to find a more comfortable position and his wings pinned under his body was just making him feel sore all over. His tail swayed over the edge of the bed and swept at the floor as he struggled to pull the covers over himself. Corrin groaned in pain at his sore wings and just let his hands fall by his side as he stared blankly at the opposing wall. Everything felt dizzy and he found it hard to even fall asleep on this soft bed. 

He watched the wall in silence as time ticked by, the seconds he counted by tapping his tail on the ground in a rhythmic pattern. Tap, tap, tap. He counted the seconds as they passed by, each subsequent second that he was unable to sleep. It grated on his nerves and he could feel his teeth sharpening to reflect his annoyance. It felt annoying… these horns, claws, wings and tail. Every part of his dragon blood was annoying… it was nothing but a gruesome reminder of his nature as a beast… even if it was only a half-blood, the fact that he could not make his wings or tail go away didn’t help to calm him down. 

Corrin struggled to pull the covers over himself once more and soon his angered grunts echoed throughout the room, sounding like the pained sounds of an injured beast. He continued to struggle with the covers for a while until a soft knocking was heard on the door. Corrin’s body tensed up and he shrunk in on himself, silently chiding himself for making so much noise at such late hours into the night and he mentally begged for his visitor to leave him. They did not need to see him in this pathetic state. 

However, much to Corrin’s dismay, they didn’t leave, instead the door creaked open. Corrin’s ears flickered and twitched as footsteps slowly walked up to him and finally a warm presence sat next to him on the bed. A warm hand ghosting over his cheek, brushing the smooth horns that adorned his skull before she spoke. “Can you not sleep, my child?” Queen Mikoto breathed out, calm and gentle. Corrin shook his head and his tongue tried to articulate his words but a guttural growl came out instead. Ashamed at this pathetic display, Corrin’s claws flew over his face, attempting to hide away from his mother as he sheepishly turned red under his claws. Yet Queen Mikoto didn’t seem to mind, instead falling into a silence as she sat next to Corrin. 

Her gentle hands moved over to his back, slowly massaging him at the base of his wings, loosening his sore, tight muscles as Corrin slowly cooed and hummed under the soft gesture. A light song touched his mother’s lips as she began to sing him a quiet song just for him, Corrin’s body visibly relaxing as she continued to sing for him. His tail slowed down and fell still and his wings relaxed behind his back as he slowly removed his claws from his face to look up at Queen Mikoto. Her eyes met with Corrin and she smiled sweetly, moving her hands over to re-position Corrin’s head on her lap. She ran soft, slender fingers through his silver hair, even taking a few opportunities to rub his horns, something that Corrin enjoyed, much to his confusion. 

Mother, he wanted to say, but couldn’t because nothing but beastly dragon noises echoed from his throat. He nuzzled into her embrace as she warmly lifted the covers and wrapped him in the sheets he was having trouble with just a while back before she smiled and finally began to talk again. “Do you feel better now, my child?” She cooed and Corrin nodded, eyes heavy and mind chugged slowly. This amount of care and love… it was almost foreign to him… something he desperately longed for despite this being his very first experience with it. Something about Queen Mikoto lulled him into a deep calm and serenity. “That’s good.” Her words were music to his ears. 

In her eyes, he wasn’t a monster and Corrin appreciated that. She treated him with love, care and respect, and she never treated him like a monster or a beast. He leaned more into her touch as she seemed to chuckle lightly when she saw how needy he was. “My dear Corrin.” She cooed, leaning towards him as she stroked his cheek lightly. “I love you no matter what you are, no matter what you look like. Even if you look like a dragon, even if you don’t look wholly human. I will still love you for you are my child.” She moved a free hand to run gentle fingers down his wings and Corrin shivered as it travelled down a sensitive part of his wings. 

Why? He wanted to ask. Why was she so insistent on giving him love. Why did she just accept him for who he is? A no-good half-blood dragon who couldn’t make his own decisions, a warrior who could only be swayed by others and be trampled over by some. Nothing but a blank slate who only could follow what others told him to do, because he just felt so empty- “Is it not wrong for a mother to love her son?” her words seemed to ring in his ears as Corrin’s eyes snapped open wide, bright crimson eyes moving to face her as she smiled and ran fingers over Corrin’s cheek, wiping away the tears that flowed down his face freely without resistance. 

I miss you mother… Corrin nudged himself further into Queen Mikoto’s embrace as he allowed her song to slowly lull him to sleep. 

“Sleep my child… You need rest. The fight isn’t over yet… But you still need to rest… You still need to feel loved.” She nudged her face into his sleeping form. “Because that's what you need to help your friends through.”

* * *

_Distant dreams for those who are destined to face a tough and arduous path. Distant dreams that remind them of what they treasured and loved. Distant dreams that shall one day bring them back home. Distant dreams that shall one day, bring happiness to everyone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Online classes started up again and I feel like death. I am not dead... sorta not really.  
This chapter was not part of the original plan for the story but I ended up writing it because I couldn't bring myself to write the next main continuation of the story. I wrote it over 3 times now and I am still upset with it, so I wrote this interlude instead to try to help me get back on that feeling but even now I still can't seem to be confident about the next chapter. 
> 
> It might take a while before the next chapter officially comes because I am just too hesitant and super unconfident about it. Maybe its because I am afraid of how people will perceive the story or maybe it's because I don't know whether people even like the story? I cannot tell. All I know is that, I just don't feel skilled enough to write the next chapter that might appeal to people.


End file.
